The demon hadn't seen many divine messengers in centuries, let alone a messenger from a benevolent ancient god. His mouth was practically watering with envy.
As for Hayden, he now understands one thing.
A learned wizard like him should certainly know that appearances can be deceiving.
But sometimes people forget that while appearances may be wrong, they are usually not.
The devil is the devil.
They were not things that were gods.
It is evil; its mental structure is so different from that of humans that there is no way for them to "understand each other."
Evil spirit
...And this great demon is really strong!
"I haven't fought a messenger of the Old Gods in a long time. Don't disappoint me!"
Before the words were even finished, the demon in the youth's skin began to emanate a strong wind, seeping with an ominous blackness. The wind didn't just blow from the demon's body; it also seeped out from the gaps in his body—such as under his fingernails—endlessly and without end.
Moreover, despite the fact that the two places were at least a hundred kilometers apart, separated by city boundaries, Hayden suddenly felt dizzy. When he looked down, he was horrified to find that the grass at his feet had turned into withered grass!
Not only the grass, but even the trees not far from him were withering rapidly. Not only that, even the soil around Hayden's body began to become diseased, losing moisture and turning dry.
And what about Hayden himself?
His mind was divided. Hayden turned to look at his body and was horrified to find that red rashes and blisters had begun to appear on the skin of his hands. He started to have a fever, and intense chills made his body feel cold. His head ached and he felt dizzy. He seemed to want to vomit, but what came out of his mouth was a sticky cough.
This is a plague and drought that spread remotely through the wind.
Moreover, this is not magic, but supernatural power.
Hayden originally used wind magic to transmit messages and glimpse distant scenes. However, this great demon was most adept at using supernatural powers to break magic, and being a demon that brought disaster through the wind, it hijacked Hayden's magical connection with the wind, forcibly transmitting the plague and drought through the connection, even bypassing the city's firewall!
Hayden usually had protective magic against disease and poison that he and Karen had previously developed. However, the great demon's powers were truly formidable, managing to penetrate even the protective magic!
Fortunately, Hayden had been strengthened by Hela's alchemical furnace before. Although he was now afflicted by the plague's power, his mental capacity remained undiminished. He immediately realized what kind of disease it was and cursed loudly:
Smallpox!? Where did this smallpox come from!?
This is likely because smallpox is one of the oldest and most potent ancient plagues. In the early stages of human history, during the civilizations of ancient Egypt and India, smallpox was already raging and killing people. It was a plague that caused the deaths, blindness, and disfigurement of tens of millions of people since the dawn of civilization. In ancient times, countries like India, Japan, and Africa even had revered and worshipped smallpox gods to ward off its afflictions.
But demons are not gods. Demons are not something that will stop bothering you simply by praying to them, offering sacrifices, or following fixed rules.
That's why a demon is a demon.
"Hey, are you really going to get taken down by me so easily?"
The great demon looked over from across the wind, but instead appeared disappointed.
"Aren't you some god's messenger? How come you're fighting so badly? Come here! Quickly cure all your illnesses!"
Fuck you.
If Angela were by his side as usual, she could easily dispel the plague with a single breath—that being said, if Hayden were to become someone who calls for Angela at the first sign of a strong enemy, he would probably be better off dying of the disease.
If Hayden had transformed into the White Wolf Beast God as usual, his ability to resist enemy supernatural powers would have been far stronger than in his human form. Unfortunately, he hadn't anticipated this situation, and now it might be too late to use beast transformation magic.
Now that things had come to this, Hayden, enraged, laughed instead.
"I know who you are."
Ignoring the red rash and blisters spreading across his body, Hayden reached inside his robes, grasped a scepter, and spoke.
"You are the Wind Demon of ancient Babylonia. You are the great demon who stirs up winds of drought and plague, and also brings locust plagues, a terrifying evil spirit king who takes people's lives."
"Oh?" The great demon in human skin raised an eyebrow. "So you know me, so what?"
Hayden did not answer directly, but continued, "Your name is Pazuzu."
Since ancient times, demons have been afraid of revealing their true names. Because once their names are known to enemies, magicians can easily use those names or other counters to deal with them.
Pazuzu. With the head of a lion, the feet of an eagle, four wings on its back, a scorpion's tail, and a large, snake-shaped penis, it is an ancient and extremely famous demon that brings disease and famine.
"so what?"
However, even after hearing Hayden say its name, the Wind Demon King Pazuzu didn't seem afraid at all.
"How many millennia have passed? Kid. Even if you know my name, only a fool wouldn't take precautions in this regard."
The great demon, dressed as a young man, shrugged, then curled his lip in disdain.
"How many millennia have passed? I have long since cracked all the techniques for casting spells on me using names! My fate is in my own hands! How could your old magic possibly restrain me?"
Honestly, that's pretty impressive.
Hayden had never heard of any other demon doing such a thing.
As a rare example of a demon originating from ancient Babylonian times that has survived to this day, Pazuzu certainly possesses considerable abilities and skills.
only,
"First of all, I know what you are, but you don't know what I am, which is definitely my advantage."
Hayden pulled a scepter from his robes, from behind his waist.
"Secondly, I don't only have old spells at my disposal."
That was a scepter he had made himself more than half a month ago.
Even Pazuzu was stunned when it saw the scepter. It was a wand design it had never seen before, a wand form it had never encountered before. It was something that existed neither in the paradigms of ancient magic nor in modern arcane theory.
That was something Hayden invented himself:
A black and white scepter, carved with a pair of intertwined white and black snakes. The white snake holds an obsidian in its mouth, while the black snake holds a white pearl, resembling the yin and yang symbol.
“The dead shall rise, their bodies shall rise; those who sleep in the dust shall awaken and sing.”
Hayden raised his black and white scepter, striking it against himself and the ground as he chanted.
"Life and death, death and life. Life is death, and death is life!"
134: The Five Plagues Descend Upon the Chaotic World
"The mandate of God is so difficult to determine whether one's life is long or short. Some die young with white hair, while others are pregnant and suffer misfortune. Before the sorrow of the past has subsided, new calamities come again."
Hayden raised his black and white scepter and struck the ground, while singing a mournful song.
"The morning glory blooms before the evening dew, and dries before the dawn. I am saddened by the irretrievable passing of the past, and my emotions are fleeting and unrestrained. The sky is high and there is no way to reach it. To whom can I confide this sorrow?"
But when Hayden began to sing loudly, his grief was so intense that it sounded almost like he was wailing at a funeral. This loud lament for the death of his loved ones, coupled with his repeated pounding of the ground with his yin-yang staff adorned with black and white snakes, somehow caused the smallpox rash and blisters that were rapidly spreading across his skin to suddenly stop, as if a video had been paused.
This finally caused even the great demon Pazuzu to show a look of surprise.
What kind of witchcraft is this?
Actually, a magic wand with a snake coiled around it is not a very rare thing. Mr. Apollo, one of the directors of Mars Industries and a close friend of Mithras, had a son named Aeschylus, the Roman god of medicine, who carried a staff with a snake coiled around it.
Hayden had previously talked to Angela while admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. He said that snakes that shed their skin every year symbolize the process of recovery and renewal, representing rebirth. In medicine, this means treatment, restoring health, and saving lives.
...but only the single-snake staff has this meaning.
The scepter of two snakes and a pair of wings that entwine the golden staff belongs to Mercury (also known as Hermes), the CEO of the Mars Industries Group. It is also a symbol of "circulation" and "transportation" and is generally used in places like international trade.
The Twin Serpent Staff itself doesn't have any healing properties. If it's used incorrectly, that's their own mistake.
As for the healing spells of the single serpent staff, they actually originate from the ancient times of the Old Gods, which predate even the modern Roman pantheon. The great demon Pazuzu has been at odds with various gods for thousands of years, and it is accustomed to the healing spells of the serpent staff, having studied many ways to counter them, and is not afraid.
However, today, Hayden's black and white scepter, carved with intertwined white and black snakes, with the white snake biting obsidian in its mouth and the black snake biting a white pearl scepter, is something that Pazuzu has never seen before.
What exactly is this thing?
Why was it that when Hayden struck the ground with this Yin-Yang Scepter and sang a mournful and shrill song, he was able to resist Pazuzu's supernatural powers?
Hayden had been watching Angela perform incredible feats with her singing all his life lately. He'd always been fascinated by new and exciting magic, and witnessing Angela's singing—a spectacle treasured by all magicians—naturally fueled his desire to study its mysteries. His motivation wasn't really for any ideal, nor for revenge against the corporation, nor to become stronger; it was simply an irresistible curiosity.
Angela's voice was heavenly, brimming with profound and mysterious truths. Even if Hayden listened for another year, he couldn't fully comprehend it; otherwise, there would be no need to continue the story. However, he always had keen intuition, and after listening for more than ten days, he vaguely learned some tricks of using music for offense and defense.
Art is magic; it can change people's hearts and even reality. A touching song can give courage to the timid, strength to the cowardly, and light to the blind. Hayden had always harbored the ideal of inventing medicine to save people from disease. Ten years ago, his parents died in a great plague, and now, when he sings the ancient song of mourning his loved ones, it is with genuine emotion, arising from his heart, and extremely poignant.
Paired with the black and white yin-yang scepter in his hand, the lament he sang stirred the divine. Life's extreme is death, death's extreme is life; life can die, and death can live. The smallpox blisters on Hayden's own body, the withered drought spreading across the ground—all faded away as if rewinding a tape.
The great demon Pazuzu was both surprised and delighted to see that his teleportation technique had been broken in such a strange way. He thought to himself, "I didn't expect this brat to know spells I've never seen before. This is going to be interesting."
Unfortunately, Hayden wasn't there to play along. Without waiting for Pazuzu to make another move, he reached out and flicked a different, broken spell at it from a distance. Pazuzu stood still, using its supernatural powers to immediately deflect Hayden's spell.
Everything happened too fast. They clashed through the air, red shockwaves deflected by green shields, blue lights collided, and hazy forms appeared and vanished. A sword materialized out of thin air, slashing and thrusting, then transformed into a black snake in mid-air to bite back, finally exploding into smoke. Both unleashed rapid attacks, one spell after another, a flurry of supernatural powers, their movements fluid and unpredictable, each strike imbued with profound and mysterious power.
In the blink of an eye, the man and the demon had exchanged dozens of blows, and neither Hayden nor Pazuzu felt alarmed.
Hayden was a learned and knowledgeable magician. It wouldn't be particularly strange if he used a hundred different spells to fight demons.
However, this great demon Pazuzu also possessed a unique and astonishing quality. While Hayden used magic, it did not cast any spells, relying solely on supernatural powers.
Supernatural powers, in essence, are extraordinary abilities. Unlike magic, which requires various procedures, they are not something that can be used at will, often flexible but not very adaptable.
Spells are highly refined and perfected forms of power, making them more stable. A mage who has mastered a thousand spells can do a thousand different things, displaying versatility. However, each individual, pre-designed spell is often not flexible enough.
However, a look at Hayden's past experiences reveals that this strange wizard was adept at temporarily disassembling a spell on the battlefield, tinkering with it, and then launching it into battle on a whim. Surprisingly, this method worked, often leading to victory.
Conversely, the great demon Pazuzu before them was also quite peculiar. Ordinary supernatural powers are often not versatile enough. Pazuzu, however, was very adept at using two or three fixed supernatural powers such as [wind], [disease], and [drought] to create variations.
Moreover, having lived for thousands of years, it has fought countless battles, possessing keen insight and profound experience. Throughout history, Pazuzu has battled various supernatural powers and spells on countless battlefields, and has always survived (though not always victorious). While it doesn't use magic itself, it is highly knowledgeable in it, versed in all schools and religions, and familiar with countermeasures against almost every existing combat spell. Most of the time, Pazuzu has used its supernatural powers to deflect or evade spells sent by Hayden through the wind.
Both the human and the demon have their strengths and weaknesses, and neither can truly defeat the other. Even though both sides employ countless ingenious and unpredictable tactics in their battle, they remain evenly matched.
"Great! This is interesting!"
Pazuzu, however, seemed to be having a lot of fun.
"I just said you couldn't do it, but you're doing pretty well, aren't you? Come on, let's keep going!"
Actually, Hayden wasn't very interested in this battle of wits.
Magicians are naturally able to deduce and invent many new spells by referencing supernatural powers, and magical combat is a good thing for a magician's growth.
However, Hayden had just witnessed the scene at the Windrider Tribe's place, a sight so vividly described that even a detailed description would be censored (404), and had also been struck by Pazuzu's smallpox plague spell. Even the Mudman was furious. Besides, Hayden was at least somewhat passionate; he wasn't a true magic-obsessed madman, and his thirst for magical knowledge wasn't to the point of being indiscriminate. Why would he be interested in slowly dissecting the evil demon's moves?
Hayden was now furious, unleashing spells at Pazuzu that relentlessly attacked vital points with ruthless, unrestrained attacks, leaving no room for defense. Unfortunately for him, Pazuzu was a great demon who had existed for thousands of years, and its power was ultimately superior to Hayden's. After dozens of exchanges, it remained unharmed.
"What kind of mad, demonic bastard would do such horrific things?"
In a fit of rage, Hayden simply launched into a tirade of profanities.
"With your abilities, instead of messing around like this, you could have become a new god long ago! Back in the day, a bunch of old gods also ate people and set fires, but they were eventually recruited. What the hell is wrong with you?!"
This isn't to speak for capitalists, nor is it that Hayden suddenly went crazy and worried about Pazuzu. On the contrary, it's precisely because he saw the suffering of the demi-humans and the cruelty of the demons that he felt both angry and confused.
With Pazuzu's abilities, becoming a military executive at a large company like the Mithra Group wouldn't be difficult. With a little more effort, he might even become one of the "guardian deities" of the military.
The Bodhisattva board members and the Myō-ō (except for the Peacock Myō-ō) of the Mitra Group are all legitimate new gods, but many of the "Heavenly" level executives are old gods who have been recruited. Many of these old gods were once evil gods who were sacrificed to blood and devoured countless people, but now they have joined the capitalist modern society and no longer eat or kill people.
...Although capitalists still engage in cannibalism and murder in practice, at least they don't actually slaughter and devour living people like cattle and sheep; they are still somewhat better to ordinary people. Feudal society is superior to slave society, and capitalist society is superior to feudal society—this is a very real fact.
That's why Hayden was completely baffled. If Pazuzu had accepted the government's offer of amnesty and become a capitalist god earlier, it would have been better for both Pazuzu and the common people today than having another demon in the world. The Windrider tribe wouldn't have been so brutally slaughtered.
Why doesn't this demon do that?
When Pazuzu heard Hayden's outburst and questions, he burst into laughter.
"They're all cannibalistic. Whether the old gods use feudal rituals to devour people or the new gods use capital and finance, they're ultimately just using laborious tools invented by others to pick up scraps. How can that compare to me chewing it up directly? That's what makes it a masterpiece!"
Even though Hayden already knew that this demon was insane and had a completely different way of thinking than a normal person, he was still taken aback when he heard this.
"Blood is good for the palate. But how delicious are despair, pain, and fear? Once I catch you and cook you properly, I'll cut off a piece of my own flesh for you to taste, and then you'll understand the deliciousness of death!"
Pazuzu grinned as he said this, "If I eat the heart and liver of the benevolent messenger again today, I, Pazuzu, can fight for another thirty years!"
That's insane.
Pazuzu spoke deliberately, intending to entice Hayden to continue fighting with it. Even though Hayden was aware of this, he couldn't help but become furious upon hearing it.
Normally, his exchange of blows with this demon across the air, using the wind as a medium, would hardly be fatal. Although Hayden couldn't win even after dozens of powerful attacks, severing the connection and running away with his tail between his legs wouldn't be difficult. But now, consumed by rage, he was solely focused on killing this vicious demon, and his anger turned into a mocking laugh.
"You want to eat the deliciousness of shit? Then I'll feed you until you're full!"
Enraged, he straightened his spine, puffed out his chest, raised his black and white scepter, drew a yin-yang circle above his head, and chanted loudly.
"Thunder is the pivot of Yin and Yang. It governs life and death, the cycle of life and death, the transformation of death into life, and the transformation of life into death."
As soon as he finished speaking, he extended his black and white snake staff and pointed it into the wind:
"Death is life, and life is death!"
In the blink of an eye, as Hayden tapped the wind with his staff, the originally formless and shapeless wind instantly transformed into black and white, like the intertwined yin and yang of a tai chi symbol. It began to spin like a typhoon, and the spinning became faster and faster until it became a dark and mysterious void that was neither black nor white.