Devil Slave (Satan system)

Chapter 1157: Entering Purgatory

Lenny stared down at the gaping hole in his chest, watching his own blood spill onto the ground.

Through the wound, he could see the snowy landscape behind him, an unsettling reminder of the damage he’d just taken. But despite the severity of the injury, Lenny didn’t flinch.

Where a mortal man would have fallen, Lenny, now in the realm of a greater demon, stood firm. The injury was critical, yes, but not fatal—not yet.

With a grimace, Lenny called on his ability, the one that allowed him to control his body at the cellular level.

Concentrating on the torn flesh, he forced his cells to knit together, tightening around the wound to stop the bleeding. His chest still ached, and the hole was still there, but the bleeding had slowed, and his mind remained focused on the fight.

However, the same problem plagued him—none of his hits could touch the old man. Every strike he threw simply passed through the old man’s form, as if he were a ghost. Lenny’s rage simmered beneath the surface, but his mind was sharp, calculating. If he couldn’t hit his opponent outright, then he’d have to let the old man hit him, and strike back in that moment.

The next punch came hurtling toward him, aimed directly at his face. This time, Lenny made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he leaned into the punch, his jaw absorbing the full brunt of the attack. The force of it reverberated through his skull, but he pushed through the pain, swinging his own fist at the same time, aiming to strike the old man during the exchange.

But once again, his fist passed right through the old man’s body, and Lenny stumbled forward, his punch finding nothing but air. His momentum carried him straight through the old man’s form, and before he could recover, another punch landed squarely on his back, sending him hurtling across the landscape. Lenny tumbled across the ground, skidding to a stop as he coughed up blood, staining the snow beneath him a deep crimson.

He groaned, feeling the weight of the battle wearing on him. His body ached, and the taste of blood lingered in his mouth, but he was far from giving up. As he struggled to his feet, the old man landed a few feet away, looming like a mini-giant. His aged face cracked into a mocking grin as he regarded Lenny with amusement.

"I see what you’re thinking," the old man said, his voice dripping with condescension. "You thought that by letting me hit you, you’d have an opportunity to strike back. But as I’ve already told you, the laws of this realm don’t work that way." He chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "Until you comprehend the laws of this place, you’ll never be able to touch me."

Lenny wiped the blood from his mouth, eyes narrowing as he glared at his opponent.

In the distance, the other seals stood in silence, watching the battle unfold. The third seal—the old man—continued to smile, confident in his untouchable superiority. But Lenny wasn’t done yet.

More Punches came for Lenny, strikes that tore through the air like a blade. However, Lenny had no choice but to take several steps back.

It had finally dawned on him through the constant fighting and through the Will and Berserker that were activated that brute force was not going to help him solve his current pridicament.

Lenny was no longer pushing forward. Rather, he retreated. And that was when he noticed it. the old man’s moves. His posture, regardless of the techniques he was using, all of it, it was a... Mirror. It was all lenny’s only slightly refined to be better than him.

And Running a while, Lenny finally broke his silence, his voice steady yet filled with an unexpected calm. "I am sorry," he said, his words carrying a weight that even surprised himself.

The old man, who had been poised for another strike, froze in place, his eyes narrowing in confusion. He took a few steps back, as if reconsidering Lenny’s change in demeanor. For a moment, the tension between them seemed to dissolve. Then, something dawned on Lenny—everything he had been experiencing wasn’t as it seemed.

All this time, the battle had been a reflection of his own mind, his intentions. The third seal wasn’t just attacking him mindlessly. It had been responding to the violence Lenny had harbored within himself.

The same way Lenny had glimpsed inside the seal’s mind, the seal had also glimpsed into his. It had mirrored back his aggression, his rage, and that was why the confrontation had taken such a brutal, unrelenting form. The old man wasn’t just a seal—he was reflecting Lenny’s own thirst for violence.

Lenny locked eyes with the old man, his chest still aching but his mind clear. "May I pass?" he asked, his voice soft yet resolute.

For a moment, the old man stood silently, regarding Lenny with an expression that was no longer hostile. Then, with a slight nod, he spoke. "That’s all I wanted," the old man said, his tone much softer now, almost tired. "That’s all I’ve always wanted. I may be a seal, but I am alive. All that have come have known this, but they have never thought to relate, to ask. Only to use force."

The old man’s weathered face cracked into a faint, bittersweet smile. "After all, I am a person. We are a person" he pointed at the other seals. "And I’ve longed for someone to ask, rather than to fight."

Lenny stood still, absorbing the old man’s words. The fight had never been necessary—his understanding of this world, and of himself, had been incomplete. The seal had been waiting for Lenny to recognize that power wasn’t always about brute force, but about understanding, respect, and the simple act of request.

’Who could have thought saying pretty please was the answer’, Lenny thought to himself.

With a final nod, the old man stepped aside, leaving the path forward clear.

Suddenly, the other seals, who had been silent observers until now, rose as one. Their movements were synchronized, as if they shared a single consciousness, a single purpose. The earth beneath Lenny trembled, vibrating with an ancient power. Cracks formed in the ground, spreading out like a spider’s web. With a deep, rumbling sound, the ground parted, revealing a vast, glowing chasm at Lenny’s feet.

From the outside, Naamah and Lamastu watched in utter disbelief, their eyes wide. Moments ago, Lenny had been locked in a fierce battle, one they thought might consume him. But now, there was no fight. The third seal, which had towered over him like an indomitable force, attempting to wallow him like a black hole, had stepped aside, as if in reverence. The earth itself was opening not to swallow him in defeat, but to welcome him as if he had been granted entry to something far greater.

And in truth, he had. after all, this was purgatory, Prison of the fallen.

The seals, each one magnificent in their ancient form, began to unlock. One after the other, they shimmered and cracked, releasing their energy in radiant bursts of light. It was not chaotic or violent, but instead, a beautiful, rhythmic sequence, like the unfolding of a sacred ritual.

Each seal unleashed a different hue of light, and the air around Lenny pulsed with power as their barriers dissolved. The once-intimidating forms of the seals now seemed to bow in acknowledgment, as though they were submitting to his presence.

Naamah’s breath caught in her throat. "Is he… taming them?" she whispered, disbelief and awe mingling in her voice. Lamastu stood motionless beside her, eyes transfixed on the scene unfolding before them. It was beyond anything they could have imagined—Lenny was not fighting the seals, he had become one with them. The seals, these beings of untold power, were allowing him to pass, not through force, but through recognition.

The final seal broke open, its brilliance bathing Lenny in an ethereal glow. The ground beneath him quivered once more before gently giving way. The earth, which had trembled in defiance earlier, now moved as though cradling him, opening a path directly into its core. Slowly, Lenny was swallowed by the chasm, the seals retreating into the background as he descended.

From above, Naamah and Lamastu could only watch in stunned silence as Lenny disappeared into the depths of the earth. The once-hostile seals now stood as silent guardians, no longer blocking his path but escorting him inward, into a realm that few could ever enter.

As the earth closed behind him, it left no trace of the battle, no scar on the land. All that remained was the quiet, and the knowledge that Lenny had unlocked something far greater than power—he had unlocked the will of the seals themselves.

And within, they waited. After the seals opening was not just known by those outside, but also by those within.

Angel, as far as the eyes could see...