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Unfortunately, before I could properly show the bitter taste of Korean-style disciplinary action, a bunch of demon bastards poured out.

The energy I felt from each of them was anything but ordinary.

“Wow, that’s a lot of you. Was the blue flame a signal that danger was near?”

“That number might be a bit dangerous? If Satan gets involved…”

While I hold off Satan, the rest of the expedition team needs to take care of his subordinates.

But the demon generals that just appeared are at least A-Class.

They didn’t seem like just any A-Class riffraff, but rather the top-tier within A-Class.

There were even a few who seemed to have reached S-Class.

‘…They weren’t this strong last time I saw them.’

I recognized some faces from the times I’ve encountered Satan before, but they weren’t this powerful back then.

It seems the ongoing war has rapidly boosted their strength.

That said, I don’t think our group will lose, but it’s unlikely we’ll take them all on without injuries.

The rough-looking demons started walking toward us.

Each of them was amping up their energy, clearly ready to fight at any moment.

For now, it’s probably best to avoid combat.

‘Did I send Master away for nothing…?’

Sorry, Belarus, but I don’t care if your group dies.

But I don’t want to see our group get hurt.

If only Lee Ha-yoon were in good condition, I wouldn’t have sent them…

It’s too late for regrets now. It’s time to move.

“Hahaha, hello?”

“…Did you light the blue flame because of these humans?”

“Idiot, if you have eyes, look closely. They’re not ordinary humans.”

“All of them are at least general-level? What are these humans?”

“Hey, look closely. Doesn’t she look exactly like that human woman who used to hang around with Satan?”

“…You’re right. How hasn’t she aged at all? Guess those rumors were true.”

“What rumors? Oh, the one about her not being human?”

They completely ignored my fresh and lively greeting and just kept talking among themselves.

This is kind of annoying.

“Everyone, we don’t intend to fight you. We have an appointment to meet with Satan.”

“…There’s no such appointment with humans on Satan’s schedule.”

A beautiful female demon stepped forward and refuted my claim.

I feel like I’ve seen her before, but who was she…?

As I rolled my eyes without answering, she looked slightly flustered.

“You don’t remember, do you? I’m Rachel, Satan’s deputy.”

“Ah, Rachel! Of course, I remember! It’s not like I couldn’t remember who you were or anything. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“…Let’s drop the talk about an appointment with Satan and get to the point of why you’re here.”

Oh, come on.

Her expression clearly shows she doesn’t believe I remember.

Well, whatever.

“So… you, the deputy, don’t know about the promise Satan and I made? Are you pretending not to know?”

“…You made a promise?”

“You don’t believe me? You should, or you’ll get scolded by Satan.”

Your Satan, demon realm resident? Me, human! Your Satan and me, human! We ate together! Uh, couldn’t go to the sauna…! Uh, made promises! Did it all!

Rachel, the pretty-eyed demon, looked flustered.

She seemed genuinely unaware.

‘Of course, it was a promise made between just me and Satan.’

Her big eyes trembled as if an 8.0 magnitude earthquake had struck.

She looked like her eyes might pop out or explode.

“Anyway, Satan and I made a promise, so I came here. But if you guys keep harassing us like this, we’ll have no choice but to leave.”

The other demons were just watching their deputy’s reaction.

After all, these are humans who’ve invaded their territory.

And these humans are talking about a promise with Satan and trying to strong-arm them.

Of course, they’d wait for their leader’s cue.

Deputy Rachel shook her head, signaling not to act rashly.

“…Wait a moment. Satan will be here soon.”

“Ah, okay.”

What, so the blue flame even makes the big boss move?

Then I guess we could’ve just waited without bringing up the promise with Satan.

Sorry for bothering the pretty-eyed demon.

As the deputy said, Satan arrived shortly after.

“…Jeong Gyeoul?”

“Wow, long time no see. I came first, as promised last time.”

“Oh, I didn’t think you’d keep your promise.”

Yeah, me neither.

“I’m nothing without loyalty. You could say I’m the epitome of trust and faith.”

“If only you hadn’t opened your mouth, the感动 would’ve lasted. Are these your colleagues?”

“You can think of them as family.”

“I see. Everyone, come in. I apologize in advance for the简陋 conditions, as we’re in the middle of a war.”

He then led us to his barracks.

The atmosphere with Satan upon our reunion wasn’t bad.

Why did we end up fighting such a rare demon?

Entering Satan’s barracks, we couldn’t hide our surprise.

The简陋 conditions weren’t just humility—they were real.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to show such conditions to esteemed guests, but I’d rather spend the money on another set of armor for my subordinates.”

That’s Satan for you.

The epitome of demon realm integrity.

Now it’s time to find out why such a demon ended up fighting us.

It’s a bit rude to ask outright.

It’s not polite to the other party, and I’m not that kind of rude woman, so I’ll build up slowly…

“So, what brings you to the demon realm this time?”

Before I could even start, Satan cut to the chase.

I was planning to start with light greetings, so I was a bit taken aback, but this works too.

No need to drag it out, just ask directly.

“Let me get straight to the point. Once you unify the demon realm, are you planning to invade the middle realm?”

The group looked at me in shock.

What? Why?

***

Jeong Gyeoul’s sudden move.

The expedition team, Satan, and even Satan’s deputy were all stunned.

‘Asking that so suddenly…’

‘Like he’s going to answer that…’

‘Gyeoul sometimes acts so clueless. I really have to look out for her.’

The group was worried about how to handle this situation.

But Jeong Gyeoul just waited for Satan’s answer without any change in expression.

“You’re sharp. That was the plan.”

“…!”

“…?”

Satan’s answer left the expedition team and his deputy stunned once again.

Only Jeong Gyeoul and Satan remained calm.

The one asking and the one answering.

To everyone else, neither of them seemed normal.

“Uh, Satan, if you had such plans, you shouldn’t have revealed them to potential future enemies…”

Even Deputy Rachel spoke up.

From the moment Satan answered, his army became a potential enemy.

Of course, we should’ve been amping up our energy to prepare for a fight, but everyone was too stunned to even think of that.

“Why would you tell them that?”

“…This is really shocking.”

To the expedition team, Satan’s answer was even more shocking than Jeong Gyeoul’s sudden move.

“What did I tell you? He’s the epitome of demon realm integrity. Not the kind of demon to scheme and deceive.”

“Sigh…”

Meanwhile, Jeong Gyeoul shrugged her shoulders, praising Satan.

After the initial shock and disbelief passed, my mind started to clear.

‘If he gave that answer despite us being right in front of him… does that mean there’s room for negotiation?’

‘He didn’t even go into combat mode after saying that.’

Moreover, Satan’s answer was in the past tense.

“Um, could you elaborate a bit more? You said you *had* such plans?”

“Are you Jeong Gyeoul’s mother?”

“…No, I’m her sister.”

“Ah, my apologies. Human ages are hard to guess.”

Come to think of it, this mess happened before we even introduced the expedition team.

It’s no wonder everyone’s so flustered.

“Don’t change the subject. Answer the question.”

This time, it was Park Seol-hwa.

As the leader of the expedition team, she had been holding back, but seeing the situation, she decided to step in.

“Ah, my apologies. But… even if I answer, would you believe me?”

Satan’s gaze sharpened.

The group tensed up.

Jeong Gyeoul might be acting recklessly, but Satan is one of only seven demon lords.

A transcendent force leading the Satan army.

Every expression and gesture of his was nerve-wracking.

Meanwhile, Jeong Gyeoul remained completely at ease.

“Whether we believe you or not is our call. Just answer.”

“Until Jeong Gyeoul came and asked me earlier, I had plans to invade. But not anymore.”

“So… you’re saying you’ll tell us the reason…”

“You’re quite impatient. Let me finish.”

Park Seol-hwa acknowledged her mistake and took a step back.

“…Please continue.”

“The moment you all found out, that plan was already doomed. So I decided to drop it. That’s all.”

Park Seol-hwa shook her head, seemingly unable to believe it, and asked again.

“If you were planning a surprise attack… wouldn’t it make sense to just kill us all here?”

Pfft—

Satan burst out laughing as if he’d heard something hilarious.

“You all? Here? While we’re at war with Belphegor’s army? Each of you is beyond general-level. You think I’d kill you?”

He had a point.

The Satan army is currently at war with Belphegor’s army, aiming to unify the demon realm.

If they fought Jeong Gyeoul’s expedition team now, Satan himself couldn’t guarantee his own survival, and his subordinates would undoubtedly be wiped out.

But we couldn’t just take his word for it and return to Korea.

 

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