Haunted by the revelations of the Prince of Sloth, Mammon prepared for the inevitable. Facing an imminent clash with the Prince of Wrath, he needed to reclaim his full strength. Without a moment's hesitation, he stripped Roxane of the thin divine essence that made her his avatar. He knew all too well that tearing such power from a human host would have dire consequences for her life, yet in his desperation, he did not pause to reflect.
"Forgive me, Roxane, I have no choice!" he whispered. Instantly, Roxane collapsed inside the plane, unconscious. At that very moment, the gods felt the sudden void of her power; they wondered what had befallen Mammon, for such a disappearance usually occurred only upon the death of a deity. A wave of anxiety washed over some, while others were struck by a grotesque sense of surprise.
Mammon donned his ancestral plate, the armor of the Prince of Wealth and Avarice. As he walked, the golden greaves and cuisses fastened to his legs, secured by a knight's belt. His gauntlets shimmered in silver beneath a matching silver cape. From his chest, he drew a scarlet light that transformed into a golden sword edged with a fine layer of silver—his greatest strength: the Power of Money.
"Come, Belial! I am ready to receive you as you deserve!" Mammon roared. He leapt into the air, spinning for a strike, but as he landed, a voice cut through his momentum.
"You are preparing against the wrong person, Mammon," Belial sneered. The prince stood there with a mocking smile, his white beard flowing down to his waist.
"What? Beelzebub?" Barely had he uttered the name of the Prince of Hell when a direct knee strike to the jaw shattered his defense. Time itself seemed to slow down for several minutes of agony.
"Damn it," Mammon gasped, his lips crushed and his neck nearly snapped, as he was hurled against the sanctuary wall like a common skull.
"All that for this?" Beelzebub mocked. "Brother, you have grown weak. Time Freeze!"
With this technique, Beelzebub paused the exact moment he chose to intervene. It allowed him to deliver a violent assault while Mammon remained frozen, unable to move despite sensing the attack. Mammon remained pinned against the sanctuary wall, his face disfigured.
"You didn't think you could come here and leave without greeting me, little one?" Beelzebub stood over his broken brother, repeating that he had grown weak and offering help on one condition: that he apologize to the other Princes.
"Get up and look at me! You will apologize to your brothers now. As for me, I was starting to get bored; I'm quite up for a trip to Earth, isn't that right, my brothers?" He seized Mammon's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Hurry up, you little egoist, we have things to do."
Mammon rose and knelt before his brothers. As his divine body began to regenerate, he lowered his head. "Forgive me, my brothers... I truly need you. I am sorry for everything." As he spoke, he felt them walking away. He lifted his head to see them marching forward as they once did in the old days. He smiled and, with a final gesture, restored a portion of power to Roxane to save her from an eternal sleep.
"When you are finished with your oaths, come join us. We have a surprise for you," said the Prince of Wrath.
"Ah... I'm so sleepy, guys! I'm too lazy to fight right now!" complained the Prince of Sloth.
"Go on ahead and take the best of your elite guards," Beelzebub commanded. "We are dealing with a God. Even if he seems old, he is still a God. When you are ready, call us. I will take great pleasure in venting my frustrations on that old man who thinks he can do whatever he wants."
Mammon struck his fist into his palm. "Here we go again." Following the princes to the end of a dark tunnel, he saw a sword carved from black diamond with a blade of pure ruby. He beamed with joy, shouting "Yes!" as they told him to try and draw it.
"I present to you the Malevolent Excalibur," Beelzebub said. "You noticed the ruby, didn't you, little one? Do not disappoint us, or you'll find your armor stained by my hand instead of Plutus'. My wrath will be infernal."
"Hey guys," the Prince of Sloth asked, "can someone tell me why we have to intervene when his inner guard is going to help him?"
Nobody answered him directly; instead, they all replied in unison, "We already know—you're just lazy!" They laughed, but a cold sweat broke out on their brows. A sudden, chilling presence crystallized the air, and the three princes looked at each other. This feeling boded nothing but ill. On Earth, Plutus also felt a massive power surge through his body. He looked at the sky, eyes wide in shock.
Who did this power belong to? Was it an ally or a new enemy?
"You dared? You bunch of useless fools?" a mysterious voice thundered.
What is this force that leaves even the mighty trembling? A presence so overwhelming that the world itself is suffocated by fear. Stay tuned for the next chapter!