"Are they about to fight amongst themselves?" Watching Damian and Lazarus argue, Baron Mordo and Kaecilius muttered quietly. Even with the Ancient One gone, the disciples of Kamar-Taj rarely had the chance to interact with powerful beings like Hell Lords.
In their experience, Hell Lords weren't usually so reasonable. But Lazarus seemed almost civil, showing no desire to battle Robert and Clark. If he had, his attitude wouldn't have been so accommodating.
"Lazarus! What the hell do you mean? Since when did Hell produce a coward like you?" Damian also noticed that Lazarus didn't intend to help him against Robert and the others. Enraged, he shouted at Lazarus.
"Heh, the Hell power you're using was just recharged. What right do you have to call yourself a being of Hell?" Lazarus laughed dismissively at Damian's outburst, glaring at him disdainfully.
"You don't even have a demonic form yet, and you dare speak to me? I'm merely using an optimized human form, but you've invested almost all your essence into this body. Isn't it because you're planning to betray Hell and become part of the Earth dimension?"
"Lies! I did it to move more freely in the Earth dimension!" Damian's pupils shrank as he unleashed a powerful aura. Yet, despite the energy radiating from him, he still appeared as a child, showing no sign of demonic transformation. His eyes alone betrayed a fierce, predatory gaze, nothing like a child's.
With a swift motion, Damian sent an energy blast toward Lazarus, striking without warning.
Yes, instead of teaming up to fight Robert and the others, the two Hell Lords turned on each other. Robert quickly realized something unusual. When he had captured Damian earlier, his strength wasn't impressive. It was only after Damian somehow transferred Hell's power into Belloc, sacrificing her, that his power exceeded Earth's dimensional limits, allowing him to display a Hell Lord's true strength.
However, that power had been tied to the Hell domain, which wasn't permanent. Once the Hell field faded, Damian's strength should have reverted to the weakling Robert had subdued.
What surprised Robert was that Damian's power now was just as strong as when the Hell field was active. Upon closer inspection, Robert realized that Damian had enveloped his body in a Hell domain, minimizing energy consumption while maximizing his strength.
Hell Lords indeed had their tricks. Damian's method sacrificed the advantage of oppressing his surroundings but allowed him to conserve his power. Without it, Lazarus would have defeated him already.
As Damian's sneak attack hurtled toward him, Lazarus' eyes flashed with irritation. He released his own energy, which, though darker and weaker, was infused with Hell's essence, similar to Damian's.
The two energy waves collided in mid-air, but it was clear Damian had the upper hand. He had managed to bypass Earth's limitations, while Lazarus was merely a slightly stronger human form. Although Lazarus had been planning for years, the price he had paid to Earth's dimensional consciousness wasn't as high as Damian's.
"Damn it!" Lazarus felt the growing pressure and snapped at Damian, "Are you insane? This mess is your own doing. Why drag me into it? Since when have Hell Lords been obligated to help each other? If you keep this up, I'll side with Superman and the Saiyan!"
"Hah! Who told you to mock me? Lazarus, if I'm suffering, you won't get away unscathed! Let's see if these Earthlings help you or stand by and watch. You think you can stay neutral? You've forgotten what Earthlings think of Hell Lords!" Damian sneered with satisfaction.
Originally, Damian had come to steal Lazarus' energy to further enhance his power on Earth. Damian's reincarnation was different from the typical human body. If not for being forced to reconnect with Hell, Damian wouldn't have to pay any energy to Earth's dimensional consciousness.
In other words, if he could sever his connection to Hell again, Damian could freely grow stronger on Earth, eventually surpassing his former self in Hell.
This was why reincarnated Hell Lords had a much higher potential on Earth compared to those in human bodies. They wouldn't be under constant scrutiny from Earth's dimensional consciousness.
It was this bright future that drove Damian to reincarnate on Earth. But reincarnation came with a cost—his true form would find it hard to return to Hell. He'd need to pay another price to reestablish a connection to Hell's essence.
If a human-bodied Hell Lord's true form resided in Hell with an avatar on Earth, then Damian's reincarnated self was the opposite—his true form was on Earth, while his avatar was in Hell.
Reincarnation was also risky. While Damian wouldn't be as weak as a newborn human child, his strength wouldn't be much better than a fledgling supernatural being. Without using the power of his Hell avatar, Damian's strength would remain at the weakling level Robert had seen earlier.
Had Robert decided to kill Damian when he captured him, Damian would have died for real, without even time to use any countermeasures. Such a death would have been utterly humiliating for a Hell Lord.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Damian, with his high-risk, high-reward strategy, was currently overwhelming Lazarus, whose low-risk, low-reward approach left him in a bind.
But Lazarus wasn't about to escalate the situation by investing more in Earth's dimensional consciousness. After all, he had spent years setting up his plans and didn't want to throw in additional resources just to deal with Damian.
"Damian! Don't push me!" As Damian's attacks grew more intense, with Robert and the others showing no intention of intervening—Robert, the battle maniac, was eagerly watching—the cold light in Lazarus' eyes intensified as he warned Damian.
"Hah, you think I'm afraid? You were acting all high and mighty before, pretending to be some kind of good guy. Weren't you claiming I'm the one who caused trouble on Earth while you're here to do good? Who do you think you're fooling?" Damian taunted without restraint.
"You think Earthlings will let you off? You've been exposed! Even if you escape today, they'll keep hunting you. Have you forgotten how you ended up in Hell in the first place? And let me tell you something: I haven't even killed anyone since coming to Earth, and they're still after me!"
The more Damian spoke, the more annoyed he became. He hadn't followed his script. Thorne wasn't dead, Catherine wasn't dead, and their child was still alive. The only one dead was Belloc, sacrificed by Damian.
But Belloc was a villain to begin with, otherwise she wouldn't have been a sacrifice for a Hell Lord. If Lazarus could justify taking over Lars' body as a good deed, Damian could argue that sacrificing Belloc was also a good deed. But would Clark and Robert buy that argument? Clearly not.
With a loud bang, Damian's growing frustration translated into a heavier blow, smashing Lazarus' body apart.
A hum followed, but Lazarus quickly reformed his body, glaring at Damian with a dark expression. "Well done, Damian. You've used reincarnation to target my human form. Let's see how much strength your Hell avatar still has left."
"When I destroy your avatar and seize your territory, you'll be stuck in the Earth dimension forever! Let me give you all a tip: when I destroy his avatar in Hell, you can kill him here, and Damian will die permanently, with no chance of revival."
"Damn it, Lazarus! You wouldn't dare!" Damian's eyes widened in panic. He lunged at Lazarus, his attacks becoming more savage, clearly trying to destroy Lazarus' form as quickly as possible.
"Hah! Do you think I'm bluffing? You're too late. My true self has already received my avatar's consciousness and is on the way to your territory!" Lazarus sneered, watching Damian with disdain.
Meanwhile, in the Hell dimension, Lazarus' true form was racing through Hell. Even for a Hell Lord, Hell was vast, and their territories weren't adjacent. Lazarus had to cross several realms to reach Damian's territory.
Upon arrival, a powerful force from Damian's domain lashed out. Hell Lords typically set up defensive formations in their realms, and unless the strength difference was vast, a Hell Lord in their own territory couldn't be easily killed.
But Damian's true form was no longer in Hell. An avatar wasn't enough to match a fully empowered Hell Lord, even with the formation's help.
The next moment, a terrifying battle erupted in the Hell dimension, drawing the attention of nearby Hell Lords. However, they remained passive observers, watching the clash unfold.
"Damn it! Lazarus, you really destroyed my avatar?! I'll never forgive you!" Back in the Mirror Dimension, Damian's body trembled violently, his aura becoming unstable. His eyes turned blood-red, his once-childish face twisted into a savage expression as he roared at Lazarus, unleashing even more terrifying energy.
With another explosive sound, Lazarus' body was shattered once again, but this time, he didn't immediately reform, likely due to the immense energy consumption.
"What's happening? Did Damian's avatar in the Hell dimension really get destroyed?" Baron Mordo and the others watched the scene, bewildered. Damian, panting heavily, stood at the center of the Mirror Dimension, surrounded by silence.
"This is a first. Normally, destroying a Hell Lord's avatar wouldn't harm their true self. But this time, we might be witnessing the fall of a Hell Lord," Mordo murmured.
"Fall?
Hah, you think it's that easy to kill me? Now that my connection to Hell is severed, I have no retreat left…" Damian took a deep breath, his eyes filled with cold determination as he looked at Robert. "Saiyan, right? You've been itching for a fight. Come on! Let's see if you can kill me before I kill you!"
"Afraid of you? Not a chance." Robert grinned, disappearing in an instant. This time, he didn't bother with energy attacks; he was going in for direct combat.
With a swish, Robert appeared before Damian—just as another figure appeared behind him.
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