Chapter 316: Devil Of Freedom

"Haha," Rion laughed upon finally finding the high and mighty Devil of Freedom who was nothing but a jet black crow with purple eyes.

"Who are you?" Devil of Freedom asked curiously as he hopped down the pillar and stepped toward Rion.

"I am Rion Del Haden, who are you?"

"I am glad you asked." Devil of Freedom opened his wings wide and answered in a haughty tone, "I am Noir, one of the seven devils — the Devil of Freedom."

Hearing that answer, Rion's steps slowed down and he remarked inwardly, 'So he is a sibling of The Remnant... Should I kill it?'

The pain, agony, and despair that The Remnant had spread throughout the red and black mountains were still etched into his mind, and he couldn't allow the same to happen to the Leonara Kingdom at the hands of Noir.

Rion raised a finger toward Noir and gathered the harmonic energy at its tip.

An orb of pale golden energy appeared just an inch before the tip of his finger and flew toward Noir with an unimaginable speed and precision.

Pss!

The orb cut through the air and reached Noir within an instant, ensuring his death. To Rion's surprise, instead of killing him, the orb passed right through him as though he wasn't even there.

Boom!

It struck the ground behind him and left a tiny crater no bigger than an adult human's foot.

"Haha! Did you really think that a weakling such as you could kill me?" Noir muttered haughtily.

Confused, Rion frowned and mumbled under his breath, "The Remnant was the Devil of Chains and his authority allowed him to seal anything... does that mean he can negate anything?"

His lips curled upwards and he muttered while grinning, "Let's try this."

"Try what?" Noir asked as a drop of sweat rolled down his face.

Rion didn't answer instead he dashed forward while performing hand signs and a spiralling sphere of wind blades appeared in his hand.

Noir's eyes widened and he muttered, "What the—"

Rion struck him with a sphere and it expanded before exploding right at his face.

Dust rose all around him and as it cleared, Noir who was completely untouched came into his view.

"Heh. Did you really think that you could hurt the great me with such pedestrian attacks? Haha! It seems I've been sleeping for too long that even someone like you is looking down on me!"

Rion ignored his ramblings and his golden aura flooded out, filling the whole area with his suffocating presence.

Noir instantly noticed the change in his demeanor. The man who appeared to be some stupid warrior now seemed like a monarch.

'Is he doing that unknowingly?' Noir wondered.

Rion gathered all of his aura before him and clapped as hard as he could.

Swoosh!

The gel-like golden aura sped toward Noir like a gigantic arrow upon seeing which the Devil of Freedom let out a caw and this time, the attack itself fell apart.

'What?' Rion's eyes widened in surprise and his grin widened even further.

His gaze moved to his heart and he mumbled, "Let's try this one."

He closed his eyes for a moment and channeled his will onto the purple flame with black spirals burning inside him.

The flame danced as though fueled by new wood and devouring demonic flames blazed around his fists.

Suddenly, all the playfulness disappeared from Noir and he asked coldly, "How do you have my Mother's flame?"

"I fought your sibling for it," Rion answered.

"What?" Noir's voice turned confused and he mumbled, "Why would a devil have the Abysmal Flame?"

Although his voice was barely audible, Rion still managed to hear him.

He frowned and the flames disappeared, leaving behind the two staring at each other in confusion.

"Do... Do you not know anything?" Rion mumbled. He had hoped to gain some information about the Monarch, the Judge, and the two Mothers but now the chances of Noir knowing anything about them seemed low.

"What do you mean?" Noir tilted his head in confusion and Rion explained further, "The Remnant. He was the one I defeated to obtain the Abysmal Flame."

Noir's eyes shone with surprise and he asked, "You defeated The Remnant?"

"I did."

"That's impossible. The Remnant was the first and the strongest devil how can someone like you defeat him? Don't make me laugh."

A vein throbbed at Rion's forehead and he said, "He had been weakened with time."

Hearing the answer, Noir's expression turned complicated. 'How much time has passed since I entered the slumber?'

Shaking off the useless thoughts, Noir asked a strange question, "Which concept do you belong to?"

Rion tilted his head. "What?"

"Haah... What kind of God are you?" Noir repeated in a way that even a kid could understand him... or at least he thought so.

Rion frowned. "What are you talking about? I am not God. As a matter of fact, no one's a God cause all of them have already died."

"What? The Gods are dead?! How's that possible?" Noir shouted in pure disbelief.

Rion shrugged. "I don't know. I came to these ruins to find just that."

Noir fell silent for a while and then he asked in a low voice, "Do you know anything about my other siblings?"

"As far as what The Remnant told me, every devil except him would need a host to wake up from their slumber. Though you seemed to have done it without one."

"That's because I cannot have a host... I wouldn't be called the Devil of Freedom if I did," Noir muttered in a dejected tone.

"Then how are you awake?" Rion asked curiously.

"Someone or something woke me up," Noir answered.

'It must've been the system... but how is a devil who knows nothing supposed to be a reward? He is more like the Devil of Ignorance than Freedom,' Rion remarked inwardly.

Noir turned around toward the giant gate at the far end and said, "The only way to know everything is by meeting the Great One."