Kami froze time instantly and began inspecting his surroundings. Mammon, Beelzebub and Lynx were all frozen in time. Kami began to walk around everyone. This was the first time he tried to move from where he was and noticed that his movements felt heavy. He couldn't move as fast as he could when time wasn't stopped. He then tried to run and was moving at a speed similar to his middle aged self before he got reincarnated.

Lynx was completely frozen but he noticed that although they moved slowly, Mammon and Beelzebub were able to move their eyes but it was slow slow and that was it.

Unlike James, these guys had released their fuwa so it wasn't going to be as easy to deal with them but it wouldn't take much. The only problem was that Kami couldn't kill them in the stopped world.

Kami could touch anyone with his own body with punches and kicks. They wouldn't move until time sped up but they were hard. No weapon can penetrate their bodies and Kami instantly realised this when he tried to slice Mammon.

This would deal damage but since the demon lords could regenerate it meant nothing. After a while of learning how his power worked he began to feel tired. This was the final revelation he received. He can't stay here permanently.

Spiritual energy couldn't flow freely as it was frozen but Kami's could. It was weak but since every time he moved he was moving faster than the speed of light, any proper attack would spell the end for the demons.

Kami hit them four times. Twice on the chin and twice on the stomach. As he did so he saw their eyes go bloodshot and close. He unstopped time as he couldn't go on any longer and watched as they both spewed blood as they were sent flying away to the direction of Kalaika.

Kami was aware they would wake up most likely the second their bodies made impact so following was pointless but the fact that he could fight two demons at once was good for him.

"Wow. What did you do. That's the same as what happened with James" Lynx gasped

Kami rather enjoyed this power. Maybe even more than his wishes. The two had a lengthy conversation as they headed back to Jasha.

On their way back a huge army blocked their path and began questioning them.

"We are from Ntral. If you want to fight us you won't receive support from us" Lynx said

The army moved out of the way rather quickly for the two and they continued back.

"Why is Ntral so important?" Kami asked

"Ntral is the only country that is neutral in the fighting. They offer soldiers that can beat a whole army and they forced every country to keep them directly out of it. Who wins or loses is decided solely by Ntral. If they decide to give a soldier to the opposition from them it means instant defeat" Lynx said

Kami began to think. They have a lot of power. Ntral forced every country to acknowledge their neutrality and none can enter the country without permission. If a soldier from any other country gets too strong Ntral can scout them and have them join them even without the SAF and magic knights tests.

"Don't they have too much power?" Kami asked

"What do you mean" Lynx responded

"They aren't directly involved in the wars but they choose who wins at all times. None can fight them since their country alone rivals every other one. doesn't this seem like a pseudo empire? They can take whoever they want from any army and if they wish for it, a whole country can fall. Zael and the head guild in Ntral seem to have too much power in my opinion" Kami noted

"When you put it that way yeah I guess Ochea is Ntral's empire. I guess to them these wars are a chess board with mana and ruminate countries on either side. They are having fun playing both sides until they can't anymore" Lynx assumed

"Yeah. When these wars are over aren't we going to be attacking other empires?" Kami remembered

"Yes. These wars are pointless when I think about now that I actually think about the power Ntral has. But if anyone tried to attack us I'm sure they would call off the wars" Lynx stated

"Are you aware that there should be no demon lord presence on this continent. Apparently a guy named Azazel is here but that is it. Mammon and Beelzebub are both the heads of an empire. Technically they just initiated war with us" Kami reminded Lynx

Their conversation continued all the way back to Ntral. After they arrived Zetsubou had just got to Naxu for the final crushing battle of that mana country. Prior, they lost half of their battle power when Brunay intervened on a battle they tried to have and now Zetsubou had been sent to clean up.

A few days behind them were the remainder of the ruminate countries who planned on marching on Savon after Zetsubou were done and annihilating them. Savon were already pretty weak from Kalaika and more specifically the demon duo so if all went to plan only two mana countries would be blocking the ruminate ones. Ntral had taken the side of the ruminate countries leaving the mana countries with a definite loss.

Zetsubou pulled out their weapons and faced Naxu. As long as no one special was amongst the Naxian army they would lose. But that wasn't how Ntral worked. A one sided defeat when you control both black and white pieces is no fun.

Zetsubou had gone on many successful missions before and became well known even outside of Brunay as the team of four most likely to take down Pocrea.

They started attacking Naxu and mowed them down easily. They arrived at the tent at the back of the battlefield when they saw two faces they recognised. It wasn't Kami and Lynx. They had definitely arrived at Ntral.

Pocrea and Lukas were sitting down drinking tea peacefully when Zetsubou barged in.

There got angry and shouted as they drew their weapons. They all made an attack at Pocrea that burned the tent instantly. Pocrea and Lukas flew out with Lukas holding a chair with him.

"Pocrea. You like to fight strong opponents and weak. They are most likely after you. I won't interfere" Lukas said as he moved out of range and sat down with his tea still in hand and prepared to watch this unfold.

"Have you gotten any stronger than last time? Before four wasn't enough for a victory so you all lost" Pocrea laughed

They began to circle her like the first time they fought but Pocrea kicked the ground and sent dirt up blocking their views and broke out of the circle easily.

"You are all only releasing aether. So you can't use nether. You're just going to lose again but I don't mind" Pocrea smiled

"Shut up! We will kill you and avenge our friends!" Marcus shouted

"You have taken too many lives and now our friends joined the pile. We will kill you or die trying" Kirgo added

"Our conviction is strong" Leland added

Pocrea decided to acknowledge them and drew her Nodachi and coated it and her body in fuwa.

They all swung their swords at Pocrea and she felt slight damage. They had gotten stronger. Pocrea quickly swung her nodachi down at Marcus and he blocked with his sword. It sent his feet slightly into the ground but he blocked it. Before it would've required two people to block one of her attacks of this level. The other three circled around and all thrusted their attacks at her back.

"Oo. Bad choice" Lukas laughed choking on his tea

Pocrea's fuwa got thicker and repelled the attack. She spun around and swung missing them but since she was aiming for the ground she was successful. The ground was engulfed in black fire and disintegrated at a fast rate. She spun back around and swung her blade at Marcus again.

Marcus dodged knowing the attack from before was nothing like this one. Yet the attack from before felt exactly like her strength the last time they fought.

"I guess you earned my full strength. When I defeated you guys before I was weaker than I am now. You need to grow faster if you wish to defeat me" Pocrea claimed

Her words held no lies. Each on of her attacks had to either be dodged or repelled by two people. Although it was easier than it was before to repel the attacks with two people it meant that Zetsubou had made minimal progress since they first joined.

"Impossible" Damian muttered "She got stronger?!"

"Change of plans. We move in pairs and must always be on both sides of her. I'll take the back with Leland" Marcus commanded

Leland still slightly believed he was at fault for the death of his friends. Choosing to hang around the back with him meant they could worry more about the offensive than the defensive making Leland less stressed.

From both sides they all attacked her shoulders causing her to bleed and almost making her arms immovable. Pocrea got angry and her power began to grow even more. She was truly a monster that someone wouldn't want to fight. She swatted them all away by spinning around with her nodachi and sent black flames off her sword in their direction.

Even though things were tight each of them equaled about a quarter of Pocrea's current strength. They tried this same method last time but there were holes in the attack and they lost and a few of their friends died but they were practicing how to fight Pocrea every day and always found a way to make a fight almost impossible to win and try to win. They had also built up their teamwork not just as a group but in pairs to avoid what happened last time.

Pocrea beat them last time because of weak teamwork but that wasn't going to happen this time. They would do everything they could to beat her.

Each of her attacks vibrated throughout Ochea and were blocked in pairs by Zetsubou. Damian grabbed a hold of her left hand and the rest slashed it off making her only able to attack with one hand. This made her angrier but there were no more power ups. They were facing full power Pocrea.

Her attacks began to slow but they were still as deadly. Damian specifically began to take the most amount of attacks as she was angry about his being the reason she lost her hand. Marcus changed the plan around her hand making most of the attacks be pointed in that section.

"There is another level to my strength and you guys just awakened it" Pocrea said calmly

Which was scary since nothing she ever said or did was calm. Her fuwa began to move violently towards her sword and vulcanised around it turning her nodachi gold and black.

They were all shocked. They believed it was impossible to moved fuwa according to Kami, James, Liliana and Lynx yet she just did it.

She breathed in deeply and they all began to run away. She raised her arm and as she did she sent her attack down as she breathed out.  A huge wave of fuwa erupted from her katana and the floor and travelled forwards rapidly. The attack cracked Ochea almost in half since the attack wasn't deep enough or travel far enough to manage completely but she dealt heavy damage.

The heat and leaking fuwa from the attack was enough to defeat them. Every member of Zetsubou were lying on the floor unconscious after her powerful attack.

"Have fun?" Lukas smiled as he smashed his empty cup of tea

"Yeah. I guess. I'll leave them alive so I can have more fun. Hard to believe they pushed me that far but wow. They were VERY fun" Pocrea said as she licked her lips.

"Ah Pocrea" Athers said "I see you had a lot of fun. Do you two maybe want to take me on?"

Athers had just arrived moments after the battle along with his entourage.

"Vhad if this happens we should probably move back by a bit" Akira said uneasy

"I agree. Ayaka you should probably join us" Vhad responded

"The Catastrophe's versus two Calamities. Or maybe only a Catastrophe from the sound of it. I'm good. I just lost a hand and even when I am in good health I'm not a fool" Pocrea replied

"Yes. Me too, I'd rather avoid fighting any of you. It would be a tough fight" Lukas added

Athers, Vhad, Ayaka and Akira made up a team of four amongst Titan known as the Catastrophe's. Their existence is a military existence and can supposedly rival any Calamity. They all fought during the Necrosis at Helix out of boredom and to slightly increase their strength. Not that any of them needed it.

Athers took out a book with a ballpoint pen and began writing. The book scared Pocrea and Lukas as they stepped back slightly.

"Now. The next time we meet, you will fight me. I want to end this who's stronger than who and just take you both on" Athers smiled "Don't worry about your hand. If you go and pick it up it will reattach instantly"

"Apparently one of our groups will be put against Kami by Azazel" Lukas said

"I heard that as well. He wants to feel the quality of his soul before he reaps it. He doesn't want Asmodeus doing it before him" Ayaka added "Wait. Athers, how has Azazel not taken yours considering what you are?"

"He knows that even if he could it would be his greatest loss. He better take Kami's soon before he can't anymore" Athers laughed

After this Athers and his team left as Pocrea and Lukas already did their job which was to repel Zetsubou. Ntral seemed to have wanted Naxu to win even though the battle that just occurred had now victor. Pocrea and Lukas soon followed suit and headed back to Ntral.

When Damian, Kirgo, Leland and Marcus all eventually woke up they were deeply depressed.

"Damnit!" Marcus shouted "WHAT IS SHE!"

"No, this is good" Kirgo acknowledged "We pushed her to her limits and cut off her arm. We now know there is a stronger version of her and that we should be able to move our aether around since she can"

"That is growth" Leland admitted "Maybe we should learn nether like we said we would. That way the next fight she will stand no chance"

They all got up and gathered their weapons.

"It's harder to grow in strength at a fast rate when you're already capped. She is or almost is. We ain't" Damian noted "We have gotten stronger, let's be patient and grow further so the next time she stands no chance"

"It seems Lukas always moves with her. He was with her at Masseth that time too although he didn't show up until the end. What happens if he interferes?" Kirgo added

"Then we get strong enough to kill them both. We have come this far. We can't lose like this. Let's request time off from Zael and get stronger" Marcus concluded

And with that everyone was now on their way or already going to Ntral.

Back at the base Kami and Lynx were still talking about the seven deadly sins.

"So what are we going to do about them?" Lynx asked

"We don't actually know where they are until they come looking for me and by the time I find them they will be stronger. I say we just leave them. As long as they don't interfere with Ochea they can remain an afterthought" Kami decided

"That doesn't excuse not training though. If they get stronger we will still need to train" Lynx noted

This held true especially for Lynx. He could tell that in a one on one he wouldn't beat them even though he went through all of that training specifically to defeat them. Kami was different. He was very strong and there wasn't much he could do to get stronger but two things came to mind and he planned on working on the easiest first.

"Okay" Kami said

A second later Kami dropped to the ground panting hard with his legs shaking and his arms immovable. Lynx opened his eyes wide and dropped to his knees.

"What happened!" Lynx shouted

"Tr..ai....ni...ng" Kami gasped

What he did was unclear but it clearly made him extremely tired and was done almost instantly.

"What could you possibly do to make you get this tired in under a second?" Lynx asked but was given no response.

Kami slowly stood up with wobbling legs and sat down on a nearby sofa and looked up into the sky. He had found something hard enough to get stronger. In his mind this training basically set his stats to 0. It was perfect for him.

Also within the base was another conversation between the catastrophe's and two of the calamities.

Shortly afterwards Zael walked in smiling maliciously.

"Okay. Athers tell me" Zael commanded

"He seems pretty good. Not a challenge. I could kill him relatively easily for you or do want more meat?" Athers responded

"Ayaka" Zael responded

"He was difficult. I say he would make a good addition" Ayaka adds

Zael leans back and starts to think.

"Kill or join?" Zael muttered aloud

He went deep in thought whilst everyone stared at him.

"Having you guys join the army and become this strong really made things easy. Ayaka, I will send him out and you will oppose him. Bring him to me" Zael stated

"Yes Azazel sama" Ayaka responded as she stood, bowed and left