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The battle between Satan and Mammon.

Mammon was defeated, and Jeong Ha-yul emerged victorious, making the score 1-1.

The situation was set for the third showdown between Jeong Gyeoul and Lucifer.

“Can I trust you to make the money I spent worth it?”

“Huh? I think I hear the voice of a defeated loser kneeling somewhere.”

“…”

Mammon, who had spoken unnecessarily and failed to recover his losses, sat back down.

Park Seol-hwa’s potion was not used for Mammon, who was being treated by a demon healer.

A gaze filled with envy briefly brushed past Jeong Ha-yul.

Despite suffering worse injuries than Mammon, she had almost fully recovered.

If only her stamina and depleted magic power were restored, she would be in the same condition as before the battle.

“Can’t we make something like that?”

“Impossible.”

“…”

“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the healer declared it impossible, and though Mammon glared at them silently, it didn’t make the impossible possible.

It seemed like the demon healers would face hardships once the expedition team returned to Korea.

Jeong Gyeoul stood up, confirming that Jeong Ha-yul’s treatment was almost complete.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful, Gyeoul.”

“Don’t worry, I’m the strongest in this world.”

“…Satan and Asmodeus showed more strength than expected. Lucifer must have grown stronger than you remember.”

“They’re just demon nobodies. I’ll finish this quickly and come back.”

Mammon looked puzzled as his name wasn’t mentioned, but no one paid him any attention.

They weren’t kind enough to give warm looks to a loser who surrendered without much of a fight.

Though Jeong Ha-yul and Asmodeus had turned the ground into a mess, no one bothered to fix it.

They figured that once Jeong Gyeoul and Lucifer’s battle began, the scene would be far worse, so there was no need to waste effort.

Both sides silently agreed, sighing as they looked at the still chaotic ground.

“The so-called captain of the captain battle is being treated quite cheaply.”

“If you want, I can restore it to its original state.”

“Forget it. Are you going to say you lost because you used magic for that?”

Kim Yu-shin had mentioned that Lucifer could restore the ground.

‘I think I could do it too if I just pulled out some magic and messed around.’

He was curious but didn’t feel the need to ask.

Jeong Gyeoul, who could tidy up with just a wave of telekinesis, didn’t need Lucifer’s method.

Lucifer, with a creepy smile, slowly drew his sword.

His face was twisted with excitement and pleasure.

“Ugh… this feels gross. It’s like a perverted old man trying to assault a young girl.”

“Whatever you think, I’m truly happy to face you.”

“…Just shut up and come at me, old man.”

Jeong Gyeoul, with a disgusted expression, shivered and wrapped herself in telekinesis.

Lucifer’s sword, which had struck the ground, crossed the air at a dazzling speed.

It was a swift attack aimed at the weakest part of the telekinetic shield.

But Jeong Gyeoul wasn’t just a hero who used super abilities.

She moved with grace, rivaling the physical transcendent Jeong Ha-yul, effortlessly dodging Lucifer’s attacks and floating above the ground.

She used super abilities to levitate, magic to lighten her body, and physical balance to maintain her center.

It felt as comfortable as standing on the ground.

Everyone present could levitate, but no one could maintain such ease and comfort as Jeong Gyeoul.

“Wow… when did she get so skilled?”

“Didn’t you know? Gyeoul trains every morning. Even though she’s the strongest awakened one on Earth, she never skips a day.”

“…It’s been a long time since we withdrew the agents assigned to her. We don’t know every move she makes.”

Park Seol-hwa, who had ordered stalking under the pretext of guarding Jeong Gyeoul, found it impossible to use that excuse anymore.

Since they no longer received reports every ten minutes about Jeong Gyeoul’s whereabouts, it was understandable they didn’t know she still trained every morning.

Regardless of the expedition team’s chatter, the battle between Lucifer and Jeong Gyeoul grew fiercer.

Jeong Gyeoul’s telekinesis, filled with strong will, swirled around Lucifer, but Lucifer didn’t go down easily.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords clashing with telekinetic forces echoed.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

“What are you talking about? You look like you can’t even breathe properly.”

Despite the relentless attacks with immense destructive power, neither side could harm the other, only destroying the surroundings and the ground.

“Move back a bit more! If you get caught in the aftermath, you’re dead!”

Even generals had to draw on their magic to protect themselves just to watch the battle.

Yet, they couldn’t take their eyes off the fight.

It was a battle between Lucifer, effectively the strongest in the demon realm, and Jeong Gyeoul, arguably the strongest in the middle realm.

Just watching felt like an epiphany, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for warriors.

***

This is embarrassing.

I thought I could take down Lucifer in an instant…

I wasn’t going all out, but I didn’t expect to land zero effective hits.

I wanted to handle it elegantly from a distance to show off my greatness to the expedition team, but it was a disaster from the start.

“Haap!”

Using just a shout to scatter telekinesis is a bit much, don’t you think?

Relying solely on telekinesis seems too risky in this situation.

“Hey, let me borrow some weapons!”

I took swords from Mammon’s generals without permission.

They looked shocked, but what could I do? I didn’t bring a sword.

Compared to Lucifer’s sword, they seemed a bit lacking, but quantity over quality, right?

I imbued each sword with telekinesis, making them move on their own.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It might not be as good as wielding them myself, but eight swords going wild should be hard to handle.

After throwing the swords, I laid down a magic rail.

“Huh? That’s…”

The original creator of this magic looked surprised, but I didn’t care.

Hayan wouldn’t be petty enough to sue for copyright infringement.

…Probably?

I inserted conductive magic bullets into the rail and sent a current through it.

Much faster than the original creator.

Using the student-surpassing-the-master technique, I completed the Lee Ha-yoon-style railgun and aimed it at Lucifer.

It wasn’t the rapid-fire version Hayan showed this time, but a single-shot, one-hit-kill railgun.

The swords swirling around Lucifer protected me until the magic was complete.

It felt like cheating, doing both tanking and damage alone, but what can I do? It’s all my ability.

“…That looks dangerous.”

Seeing the railgun, Lucifer ignored the swords around him and charged at me.

“Too late, buddy.”

Flash—

A burst of light erupted from the end of the magic rail.

The rail exploded, unable to withstand the power, but it had already fired, so no big deal.

Kwaaaang!

The magic bullet flew towards Lucifer and exploded with a deafening roar.

I was worried he might deflect or dodge it, but thankfully, it hit.

The current still crackled in the air, emitting a creepy noise.

The heat was so intense that a heat haze rose from the ground.

He might not be dead, but he must have taken significant damage.

I created an ice spear and launched it.

The swords flying around Lucifer also flew towards his position.

That should do it.

I clapped my hands and turned to the expedition team.

Facing the captain who had just taken down a lord in an instant, they looked shocked.

They all had their mouths open and fingers pointing.

Still, between us, why so much… I’m starting to feel a bit shy.

“Hey, you idiot! Behind you! Look behind you!”

At the urgent voices of the expedition team, I turned around.

I had a bad feeling, and it turned out to be true.

I didn’t even say “Did I get him?” or anything, so why!

Did saying “That should do it” have the same mysterious power as “Did I get him?”?

Lucifer slowly walked out from the dust.

“Thrilling. It’s been decades since I faced such a crisis.”

“…Are you a cockroach?”

They say cockroaches can survive a nuclear explosion. He might be the same.

Asmodeus transformed into a snake and a crocodile, but Lucifer wouldn’t transform into a cockroach, right?

If he did, I’d hide behind Jeong Ha-yul.

I can eat monsters, but I hate cockroaches!

“Let’s start round two. Make it more fun for me!”

He said to start round two, but he cowardly entered transformation mode.

Luckily, he didn’t turn into a cockroach.

Instead, his horns grew longer, his wings larger, and his tail thicker.

Unlike Asmodeus, who transformed into reptiles, Lucifer maintained his demon form.

But…

I’m not a kind enough hero to wait for his transformation.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa bang—

The generals’ swords weren’t enough, so I gathered all the soldiers’ weapons.

I wasn’t showing off fancy swordplay or making them fly with willpower.

I just made them fly straight at Lucifer.

I couldn’t launch hundreds at once, but launching them sequentially was easy.

It reminded me of someone in golden armor, but isn’t this how all telekinetics fight?

It’s just a shame the swords I launched weren’t noble phantasms.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa bang—

Like I said before, quantity over quality.

I picked up the swords that had fallen after attacking Lucifer and launched them again.

It looked like a bombing run had hit where he stood.

But… it didn’t seem very effective.

Lucifer, having completed his transformation, swung his tail and shattered all the swords.

‘This is bad…’

How much does one sword cost?

I’m going to lose all the money I earned as a mercenary.

 

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