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Mammon, who had received the contract, was about to quickly sign his name when he suddenly paused.

‘A human more demon-like than a demon wouldn’t make a normal contract.’

Whether the situation was urgent or not, if he messed up the contract even once, it would be over in an instant—like guaranteeing a bad deal and blowing up his entire household.

If he became Jeong Gyeoul’s slave after winning the war, even victory would be meaningless.

Not wanting to walk the path of ruin, Mammon carefully scanned the contract.

The top part caught his eye first.

And the bottom part, which he’d skim while signing, seemed fine.

A thousand-year ban on invading the middle realm, a mercenary payment agreement. Everything Mammon had discussed was in the contract.

But… as expected.

Something strange was slipped in the middle.

No tricks like shrinking the font or making it faint.

That’s the kind of thing third-rate scammers would do.

Just one line, placed slightly below the center, ignoring any sense of flow.

If he hadn’t gone through it line by line, he might not have noticed anything odd.

Feeling overwhelmed by Jeong Gyeoul’s wickedness once again, he read the line.

[Jeong Gyeoul and her party will be granted anything they desire upon visiting the demon realm.]

He had no intention of invading the middle realm anyway, and handing over gold seemed like a cheap price.

But a clause akin to a slave contract was mixed in.

“…What is this?”

“Uh… I don’t know anything about that. It seems like my loyal subordinate Blandiya added it.”

It has nothing to do with me? Whatever.

Since when did Blandiya become Jeong Gyeoul’s subordinate?

To an outsider, it would look like an innocent face, completely undeserving of blame.

But…

“This isn’t written in demon language, it’s your language. I don’t know who this Blandiya guy is, but I doubt he’d use this kind of language.”

“Heh.”

Since the contract was written in Korean, there was no room for excuses.

He tried to laugh it off, but the atmosphere around him was icy.

Even Satan was giving him a disgusted look.

“…Even if others do it, it’s rude for you to make that face.”

“If you were born in the demon realm, I’d have no place to stand.”

It was hard to tell if that was a compliment or an insult.

Being called more demon-like than a demon could be considered high praise from a demon’s perspective.

Even if it sounded like an insult to a human, since it came from a demon, he decided to take it as a compliment.

Jeong Gyeoul snatched the pen and contract from Mammon and crossed out the part about the slave contract.

But she didn’t just cross out the line Mammon had seen in the middle.

At the very bottom of the contract.

A pattern that seemed like a decorative border, naturally and beautifully designed.

It was a special clause Jeong Gyeoul had sneakily added by rotating the text.

The content was similar—still something akin to a slave contract.

“…So this wasn’t part of the contract’s design, but something you wrote?”

“…You didn’t know? Tsk… I shouldn’t have erased it.”

Like a thief caught red-handed, Jeong Gyeoul diligently erased the hidden clause and finalized the contract.

Whoosh—

As Mammon finished signing and brought out a dimensional stone from his pocket, blue flames erupted from the contract, burning it to ashes in an instant.

Jeong Gyeoul, who witnessed this right in front of her, didn’t even try to hide her shocked expression.

She looked like a primitive human seeing fire for the first time.

“Wow… That’s amazing! There was no flow of magic power.”

“How many of these can I take back to Korea? It seems worth researching.”

Even in the midst of this, Lin Hazel, who only thought about research and papers, made Mammon shake his head in disbelief.

“Heukgu, grab a few of those for us when we leave.”

“Yes, Captain. You can take all of them. They’re just excess inventory.”

Whether Jeong Gyeoul’s party was chatting or not.

Mammon’s crow-like head swayed up and down as he taunted Satan.

“So, this is how it ends. It’s too late for regrets now.”

“You fool… Do you really think everything will be solved with the help of humans?”

“I don’t like it either, but that human party has two lord-level beings. The rest are at least captain-level. If they can’t solve it, that would be even more absurd.”

“I request a Captain Battle, following the rules of the Lord’s Meeting.”

It was absurd for Satan, who had broken every rule of the Lord’s Meeting to continue the war, to bring up the rules now, but there was no reason to refuse.

One of the rules created due to the demon realm’s low population relative to its land size.

In the event of war, to prevent a rapid decline in population, Captain Battles would be prioritized.

A rule established during the first Lord’s Meeting held in Mammon’s Ten Thousand Demon Hall.

***

After a heated debate, it was decided to be a 3v3 Captain Battle.

Even if Satan lost and refused to accept the result, leading his soldiers to attack, Mammon had a plan.

By throwing Jeong Gyeoul’s mercenary-turned-expedition team into the Captain Battle, his own subordinates would remain unharmed.

Meanwhile, Satan’s generals, having clashed with Jeong Gyeoul’s mercenaries, would naturally fall back, making it a situation where he couldn’t lose even if he wanted to.

It wasn’t bad news for Jeong Gyeoul either, who was worried about Lee Ha-yoon’s darkening gauge.

“Isn’t it a bit much to have two of our mercenaries go?”

“You signed the contract, and as the employer, I have the right to send you. Shut up and fulfill your duty as a mercenary.”

“Sigh… I expected this, but you really changed your attitude the moment the contract was signed. This is why demons…”

While the list for Satan’s army was still unknown, Mammon’s list was complete.

Mammon, Jeong Gyeoul, and Jeong Ha-yul.

With transcendent-level abilities, all participants seemed to guarantee Satan’s army’s chances plummeting to the ground…

Scratch—

Satan’s list included Asmodeus and Lucifer.

Now, the outcome was uncertain.

The crow’s bright smile instantly froze.

“…I had a feeling, but it really is a three-army alliance.”

“Lucifer is a bit hard to call an ally… but I guess you could say that. He’ll help me anyway.”

As soon as the Captain Battle order was decided, as if waiting for this moment, Lucifer flew in from the north and Asmodeus from the south.

“…What timing?”

The lords arrived simultaneously, as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.

It was so perfectly timed that it was hard not to suspect it was part of Satan’s scheme.

“I heard you shouldn’t trust black-haired beasts, but I let you live, and here you are causing trouble?”

Ignoring both Satan and Mammon, Lucifer landed right in front of Kim Yu-shin and asked incredulously.

“…You’re more of a beast than I am, but sorry I couldn’t make it. I really meant to protect it, but a war broke out.”

“Was the strong one you mentioned that human girl?”

“…Well. Actually, all the humans here are strong. But Gyeoul and Ha-yul are the strongest.”

Nodding, Lucifer headed to Satan’s side, and the situation seemed mostly settled.

Everyone naturally created distance, forming a large circle in the center.

The stage for the Captain Battle.

Satan’s army vs. Mammon’s army.

The start was between Satan and Mammon.

Satan judged it best to start with momentum.

Mammon thought it best to place the strongest, Jeong Gyeoul, in the captain’s seat.

30 minutes into the fight, Mammon’s beak was cut off.

Retreating with all his might, Mammon spoke with an oddly dignified tone.

“I lost!”

It was surrender.

Satan, who had been about to decapitate Mammon, stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded.

***

Crazy guy.

It was absurd enough to put me, a mercenary, in the captain’s seat.

But surrendering so boldly and losing like a dog was even more absurd.

That guy calls himself a lord and lives so comfortably.

It made me think it wouldn’t be so bad to take over the demon realm myself.

Next was Jeong Ha-yul vs. Asmodeus.

I didn’t think she’d lose.

A snake is still a snake, no matter how much time passes.

Or so I thought.

The situation took a strange turn.

When Asmodeus and Jeong Gyeoul faced off, I still expected Jeong Ha-yul to dominate.

In the early stages of the battle, Jeong Ha-yul’s attacks were overwhelmingly frequent.

And her effective hits were incomparable.

When the Demon King Punch landed, burying Asmodeus in the ground, it seemed like it was over.

But…

“Kuaaaaaa!”

Asmodeus, buried in the ground, let out a roar as his body began to grow and transform.

His size became so massive that it cast a shadow over the expedition team’s position.

Thick scales began to rise, reflecting the sunlight with an ominous glint.

The bulging muscles beneath the scales hinted at a tremendous increase in strength.

“Grrr. I didn’t think I’d have to reveal this form so soon.”

The snake had evolved beyond its species.

Jeong Ha-yul swung her fist at the now crocodile-like Asmodeus, but the incredible elasticity of his scales sent her flying back.

Jeong Ha-yul, pushed back, rotated her wrist and let out a sigh.

“Sigh… This is really unbelievable.”

Asmodeus’s second phase was supposed to shed his skin and become a true snake.

But instead of a snake, a crocodile stood there.

A very tough crocodile.

 

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