Gremory’s prison.

A place that boasts extreme difficulty, formed as a dungeon.

The average monsters’ levels range from 400 to the upper 470s.

At the current users’ level, it was a dungeon they couldn’t even dare to attempt.

And at the end of this dungeon—

There was a man whose skin had been dyed black all over, like a demon.

He was a handsome man with a sturdy frame, and two very small horns rose from his forehead.

Lesser demon Luxiu. That was the man’s name.

He looked down at his legs.

Invisible shackles bound his legs.

Shackles placed on him by the demon of the legion commanders—Gremory.

Lesser demon Luxiu recalled it.

That outsider who came back then....... 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

That man wielded a sword so superb that even Luxiu had to admit it.

But it still wasn’t a level that could defeat Luxiu as he was now.

Luxiu wished for it.

Come back stronger. Come back and grant me rest.

Luxiu wanted eternal rest.

No matter how many years it took, Luxiu wanted that man to return and kill him.

Just then, a demonfolk appeared.

Unlike Luxiu, it was a presence that brought to mind the very image of a true demon.

It had horns several times larger than Luxiu’s, and its build was larger as well.

It was demonfolk that served demon Gremory—Legion Commander Robs.

Hell’s hierarchy placed the archdemons at the very top.

Below them were ordinary demons, and beneath that existed demonfolk and demonic beasts.

These “legion commanders” were the highest class among demonfolk—comparable to commanders among humans.

And their strength, too, could be said to come right after demons.

This prison of Gremory was treated as separate from the surface.

So legion commanders and demonfolk were not weakened as long as they were inside.

[Gremory’s Legion Commander Robs Lv.475]

A being with power that rivaled most human legends.

No—if they were in hell itself, where demonic energy overflowed rather than here, legion commanders were the kind of beings who could easily display power at level 500 or higher.

Legion Commander Robs, having revealed itself, looked at Luxiu and marveled.

“Lady Gremory truly is an extraordinary being.”

Luxiu’s face twisted.

“After using a bastard like you as a vessel to hold demonic energy for so long, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) isn’t she turning you into a real demon!?”

Legion Commander Gremory was the one who commanded the greatest number of demonfolk and demonic beasts.

And yet, she knew.

“How could an experiment conducted to challenge a higher throne turn out this successful! A man once called the undefeated knight becoming a complete demon!”

That in order for her to ascend to a higher throne, she needed a single being stronger than any number of demonfolk and demonic beasts.

In truth, the undefeated knight was once someone who had secured a firm position on a continent with power like a legend.

He had even protected his homeland by blocking demon Gremory’s invasion alone.

But what demon Gremory had aimed for back then wasn’t to consume his nation.

It was to obtain the undefeated knight who would not fall.

Luxiu fought desperately.

Even weakened, Gremory and her underlings were strong.

But the king Luxiu had served, who should have stood behind him, aimed for Luxiu’s back and betrayed him.

And by handing Luxiu over to Gremory, he found “peace” for the nation.

That was the grotesque life Luxiu had lived.

Someone who fought demons alone for his country, only to be discarded.

And now, by the very demon Gremory he hated and despised, he was being turned into the thing called a “lesser demon.”

“In half a year, you’ll lose every shred of intelligence you still have, and you’ll forget every emotion and memory you had as a human. You’ll be reborn as a true demon—becoming hell’s undefeated one—and you’ll become Lady Gremory’s loyal dog, so know this glory. KKEHEHEHEHE—!”

Legion Commander Robs had also once fought Luxiu—back when Luxiu had been like a rabid dog—and had been terrified and afraid.

The pinnacle of demonfolk.

Luxiu had been strong enough to frighten even Robs, a legion commander.

And on the other hand, Robs also harbored an inferiority complex toward Luxiu.

Robs knew it.

The moment Luxiu was reborn as a true demon, Luxiu would receive Gremory’s boundless love, and Robs would be pushed aside.

So before that happened, Robs vented that inferiority.

“The day you become a real demon. Your first mission will be to bring down a kingdom.”

There was another reason Lady Gremory had raised a lesser demon.

A being who became a demon while still carrying human blood had the advantage of not weakening on the surface.

So, at least on the surface, Luxiu would be able to rival Gremory herself.

Luxiu heard which kingdom it would be.

“It will be the Kingdom of Brook. KKEHEHEHEHE—!”

Luxiu’s homeland was not the Kingdom of Brook.

And yet Luxiu shed tears of blood.

His parents had been born in different nations.

His mother—gentle, and someone who had protected Luxiu—had been born in her own country.

His father—a knight—had been born in the Kingdom of Brook.

And on the day Luxiu was offered up as a sacrifice, Luxiu’s family would naturally have returned to the Kingdom of Brook.

And the place where Luxiu had been born and raised was the Kingdom of Brook.

The people Luxiu had known there, and friends.

Every fragment Luxiu still remembered as a human—Luxiu would destroy with his own hands.

Demonfolk truly were a cruel race.

Luxiu tried to reach out quickly to seize Robs by the throat.

WHOOOOSH—!

Before Luxiu could, Robs moved first, and the demonic energy inside Luxiu ran wild as Luxiu’s brain was consumed.

“Guhh.......”

Blood vessels stood out on Luxiu’s face as his brain was dominated.

As Luxiu slowly collapsed, Robs planted a foot on Luxiu’s head.

“X bastard needs to listen to its owner.”

Luxiu thought.

Before eternal rest came, Luxiu wanted revenge on them.

Anyone is fine. If someone can give me a chance for revenge, I’ll do anything.

But Luxiu knew it.

Among mere humans, no such person would exist.

*****

“There’s no definition for a lesser demon.”

That was what Bahala had said.

In reality, after hearing about Luxiu, Hyunsoo tried to find information.

But nothing came up at all for keywords like “lesser demon” or “Luxiu.”

So Hyunsoo could arrive at a new conclusion.

“Maybe Luxiu used to be human.”

Hearing Hyunsoo’s words, Bahala slowly nodded. Their expression didn’t change much.

“That could be. A human who will threaten the entire continent.”

Even if that were true, the fact that Bahala had to kill Luxiu did not change.

The same went for Hyunsoo.

I don’t know this Give me, your loyalty’s standards.

A title that reacts when someone who might become a talent, a vassal, is nearby.

Even if that possibility was only 0.1%.

So the need to put Luxiu down didn’t change.

The two of them entered Gremory’s prison together.

Bahala looked around, making a puzzled expression.

“Why are there no monsters?”

Bahala was someone who had been here once before.

The first time, there had been quite a few demonfolk and demonic beasts guarding the prison.

Hyunsoo tensed at Bahala’s words as well.

If it’s different from before, there could be a reason.

At that moment, the hairs on both of them rose.

“Not long ago, the demons seated upon the thrones sensed a single power that threatened them. It was only for a moment, but that unidentified power must have been the power to extinguish evil that dwelled in Babylon—the one thrown into hellfire in the distant past.”

Hyunsoo and Bahala were flustered.

Especially Bahala, one who walked the Sword God’s Path.

Bahala, more than anyone, wanted to deny the present situation.

If it’s like this, there can’t be any chance at all.

A bleak, clammy voice.

A voice so chilling it was like a small whisper from Satan.

“Lady Gremory judged that even if someone existed who held that Babylon, it wouldn’t be enough to threaten her, or the demons and archdemons, at present.”

It was a reasonable inference.

Extinguish Evil as it was now deleted 80% of HP.

The problem was that even if Extinguish Evil activated, there was no one who could shave off the remaining 20% HP of a demon—or archdemon-class being.

“But you can certainly bring down lesser demon Luxiu. And the one who attacked Luxiu three months ago likely chased after Babylon—the one thrown into hellfire. So she said this: Wait for that man, and recover ‘Babylon.’”

[The appearance of Gremory’s Legion Commander Robs!]

[The appearance of lesser demon Luxiu!]

[The legion commander’s rage.]

[The lesser demon’s fighting spirit.]

[A massive demonic energy causes a dramatic status ailment.]

A status-ailment technique reaching out toward the two of them as they stood together.

Bahala’s eyes snapped wide.

I have Sword God’s Dignity.

Sword God’s Dignity, the passive skill Bahala possessed, resisted even the status-ailment technique of a lesser demon—a semi-Transcendent species.

But Bahala knew.

In Hyunsoo’s case, as the only legend among users, Hyunsoo could resist status ailments up through legend-grade—just as Hyunsoo had resisted Hydra’s poison before.

In fact, Hyunsoo could resist Robs’s effect.

But the lesser demon’s fighting spirit was different.

[You are afflicted with the Severe Fear status ailment.]

[All stats decrease by 15%.]

[Agility decreases by 25%.]

[You take 1,613 damage per second.]

Hyunsoo was genuinely startled.

It’s this much with just a status-ailment technique?

And Hyunsoo could see Bahala, flustered and not knowing what to do.

Right now, Bahala’s hesitation—

Who do I use it on?

Extinguish Evil could be used only once.

What Bahala worried about was that Bahala still didn’t know what kind of power Legion Commander Robs had.

[Gremory’s Legion Commander Robs Lv.475]

[lesser demon Luxiu Lv.615]

Even though Legion Commander Robs’s level was overwhelmingly lower than Luxiu’s, the name “legion commander” still carried weight.

If Robs has power that heals Luxiu.......

A deadlock.

And there was another reason Bahala hesitated.

If I rush Luxiu right now, Hyunsoo dies.

There was guilt, but there was also that plain fact.

The moment Hyunsoo died, Robs would throw itself at Bahala.

Luxiu and Robs. Bahala wasn’t confident Bahala could win against the two of them.

Then—

“I told you not to be dead weight. I’ll endure.”

“.......”

Hyunsoo eased the weight in Bahala’s chest and calmed the confusion.

Hyunsoo’s solid back came into view as Hyunsoo stood alone in front of Robs.

Bahala steadied their mind.

Bahala saw lesser demon Luxiu charging in like light.

A semi-Transcendent existence at level 615.

Perhaps the greatest named monster that had never once been raided by users.

Whether human or demon didn’t matter.

Hunting that existence would make Bahala into an even stronger Sword God.

“Extinguish Evil.”

[It extinguishes all evil!]

The most holy power—drawn from Babylon, the black blade.

It was swung from ten meters behind Luxiu, and yet it reached Luxiu.

SHKAAAA—!

[All evil is cut down!]

[It deletes 80% of HP.]

FWOOM—!

For an instant, it felt like Luxiu’s body was split in half.

And then Bahala witnessed a shocking sight.

“UOOOOOOO!!”

Hyunsoo—someone Bahala didn’t want to be dead weight.

Hyunsoo was charging toward Bahala with all their strength, holding Robs in a bear hug.

For a moment, Bahala didn’t understand that action.

And the place where Extinguish Evil had scattered was nothing but quiet.

But the moment Hyunsoo entered within a thirty-meter radius together with Robs, Bahala marveled.

So this is how a blacksmith fights!?

Bahala realized why Hyunsoo had thrown their body while holding Robs.

The quiet inverted.

[Splash damage is triggered.]

In the first place, Babylon’s creator was Hyunsoo—and the one who understood it most deeply was Hyunsoo.

[2,300% damage is dealt to evil within a 30m radius.]

The quiet peeled away, and like light-magma boiling over, it surged up from the ground and swallowed Robs.

FWOOM—!

Steam rose from Robs’s body as if acid had been poured over it.

Bahala watched Hyunsoo locked in a fierce close-quarters clash with Robs inside that white magma.

The time Hyunsoo bought—Bahala, trying to shave off the remaining 20% of the lesser demon’s HP so it wouldn’t be forgotten, soon froze.

Because Bahala had assumed Hyunsoo would be horribly crushed by Robs within the splash damage’s range.

And then goosebumps rose over Bahala’s entire body. Bahala was truly aghast.

Inside that white light—

......What is this?

Bahala’s thoughts stopped.

A passive skill Bahala possessed—Sword God’s Eye—issued its notice.

[Damage that even the Sword God would admire is about to occur.]

And the person at the center—Hyunsoo.

Hyunsoo was exulting, hot with rapture.

Ultimate Art

[Ultimate Art activates.]

World Ares’s first instant-kill technique was activating.