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Dantalion.

A demon with multiple faces.

A Grand Duke leading 36 demon legions, he was one of Satan’s subordinates guarding the border near the city of Dante, adjacent to Asmodeus’s territory.

Known for carrying books and manifesting powers like reading minds, many consider him an intellectual type, but his physical abilities are equally developed.

Known for his calm and composed personality, he had now lost his cool.

“That insignificant human brat, what’s so important about them!”

“You’re right. But please calm down.”

“If they were that important, they should’ve crossed over to the human realm themselves using a summoning circle!”

“Dantalion! Someone might hear you!”

“Let them hear! Is now the time to be chasing after humans? Asmodeus is gathering troops at the border as we speak!”

Dantalion, furious at Satan, was spewing harsh words.

His deputy, trying to calm him down, was sweating bullets.

Even in this state, he desperately tried to reason with Dantalion.

Though Dante was a city firmly under Dantalion’s control, it was ultimately part of Satan’s domain.

Satan’s eyes and ears were hidden everywhere in his territory, including Dantalion’s castle.

From Dantalion’s subordinates to the servants, even the slaves.

No matter how close Dantalion and Satan were, Satan was still Dantalion’s lord.

It wasn’t a good look to be acting like this.

“I need to meet them myself before handing them over to Satan. What’s so special about them that he’s so worked up?”

“Coincidentally, an unidentified human has entered the city.”

It was better to let Dantalion meet the human than to let him continue badmouthing Satan.

Dantalion, pleased, reached out as if asking for his coat.

Without a word, the deputy understood and handed him a green robe.

The deputy’s quick thinking and sensitivity were impressive.

“Where are they?”

“The underground prison.”

“If they’re weak enough to be caught in Dante’s prison, they’re not the human Satan mentioned.”

Satan had given an order to all his subordinates in charge of the cities in his domain.

A human from the mortal realm had crossed over into the demon realm, and if encountered, they were to be treated with utmost respect and brought to him.

Yet, he hadn’t provided any details—name, gender, age, appearance, or characteristics.

It seemed even Satan didn’t know.

The only thing he added was…

That this human was strong enough to rival the seven lords ruling the demon realm.

But Dantalion didn’t fully believe that.

All the humans in the demon realm combined could be wiped out with a single gesture from him.

Still, he figured there must be some truth to it if Satan spoke so highly of them.

If they were caught in Dante’s underground prison, they probably weren’t the human Satan was talking about.

“The guard captain thinks they let themselves be captured for their subordinates.”

The guard captain took a long time interrogating Jeong Gyeoul, partly because of interrogating Heukgu and Heukrang, but mostly because he had to report to Dantalion’s deputy.

Thanks to that, the deputy had some information to pass on to Dantalion.

“…Then there’s a possibility.”

If the human in the prison was indeed the one Satan mentioned…

A human who had only been in the demon realm for a few days already had subordinates?

But hearing that they didn’t resist much when captured by the guards softened Dantalion’s expression slightly.

As someone commanding 36 legions, he had to see his subordinates as numbers during war, but he despised treating them lightly.

“I’ll take care of it.”

The deputy ordered his subordinates to inform the guards that Dantalion was heading to the prison.

He gave them time to clean up and prepare to receive their superior, but…

Dantalion’s pace was so fast that they arrived shortly after.

As a result, the cleaning wasn’t done properly, and dust was everywhere, making it look unkempt.

“Welcome, Lord Dantalion!!”

The guard captain shouted as if trying to make up for the mess with his volume.

His booming voice made one consider covering their ears.

The deputy glared at the guard captain, but Dantalion walked in unfazed by the dust and noise.

“You said a human came in. Show me.”

“Ah! The human? They’re currently being interrogated in room 1…”

Before he could finish, Dantalion moved.

*Bang!*

Kicking open the interrogation room door, he saw a female human slumped over the desk.

“Are you the one summoned from Earth?”

“…?”

At Dantalion’s question, the woman finally looked up.

‘What… what kind of beauty is this!’

Though demons and humans have different standards of beauty…

To Dantalion, this human was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He was now certain this was the human Satan was looking for.

‘…So this is why!’

He understood why Satan was so desperate to find her.

But he sensed no energy from her.

If Satan was right, she should be stronger than him.

Even though he was almost certain she was the one Satan sought, Dantalion’s mind raced.

‘I’ll take her.’

If he defeated her in a duel, he could claim she wasn’t the human Satan was looking for.

What if Satan tried to take her by force?

It would mean one of the demon lords was lying to his subordinates.

The fact that no energy could be sensed from her.

The fact that two demons, albeit low-ranking, followed her as leaders.

The fact that she took down a human trafficking ring and brought them here.

There were plenty of reasons to suspect something was hidden…

But her beauty narrowed Dantalion’s focus.

“I asked if you’re the one from Earth.”

“…Yes?”

“Fight me.”

“…?”

This confirmed it.

She was the human Satan was looking for, and her beauty was why he was so desperate.

Now, if he could just prove her combat skills weren’t at the level of a lord…

Satan would have no grounds to take her.

Even her bewildered reaction to the sudden duel request was endearing.

Dantalion felt like he had finally met a woman worth risking everything for.

“Follow me.”

He turned away coolly, showing off his charisma.

He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising to his ears, but since he turned around, he thought no one would see.

He forgot that his multiple faces were visible from all angles.

Dantalion, experiencing love at first sight, was like a pure child.

***

The demon named Dantalion, who told me to follow him, suddenly grinned.

I didn’t know what it meant, but it was a very unpleasant and unlucky smile.

“We’ll use the guard’s training ground. Anyone can come and watch, so gather them.”

The demon ruling this city ordered the townspeople to gather.

‘Is he crazy…’

After detecting his magic power, or rather, his demonic energy…

The energy demons possess is slightly different from regular magic. Its color, density, flow, and other properties differ significantly.

But it didn’t seem like there would be a noticeable difference in power.

Objectively, he was strong.

The amount of magic power I sensed was roughly between high A-rank and low S-rank.

Since I was deliberately hiding my magic power, he couldn’t sense how weak he was compared to me…

But to gather the townspeople to watch, thinking I was just an ordinary human…

That’s just a cruel hobby.

Everything about this demon, from his appearance to his actions, was disgusting.

Was this some kind of public execution…?

I didn’t know the reason.

I didn’t even know how he knew I was from Earth.

But that didn’t matter now.

The hero I respect the most.

My role model. My ideal.

Following the golden advice of the Demon King, Jeong Ha-yul.

If you’re curious about something, ask after you beat them up.

Soon, the guard’s training ground was filled with demons.

“Wow! It’s been a while since we’ve seen Lord Dantalion fight!”

“Will it even be a fight? The opponent’s just a frail human… One breath and it’ll be over.”

“Human! Hang in there! Try to last as long as you can!”

The demons whistled and clapped, clearly looking forward to the duel.

Deciding it was time to start, Dantalion signaled his deputy.

The deputy stepped into the center of the training ground.

“The duel begins when this coin hits the ground. The only condition for defeat is surrender, and no one may interfere during the duel. Now, I’ll toss it.”

*Ting!*

A light sound rang out as the coin spun and fell to the ground.

*Thud.*

As soon as the coin hit the ground, I surged forward with explosive magic power.

“Wh-what!”

This was a technique I had used before, known for its incredible speed.

It was the first time I’d used it since transcending, but it probably looked like teleportation.

Honestly, even I was surprised.

‘Well… let’s… take a hit first.’

Telekinesis, magic, physical strength.

I have many abilities, but…

Nothing beats the satisfaction of a direct hit.

I understood why Jeong Ha-yul didn’t use weapons.

She said it was because weapons couldn’t withstand her power, but I think she was just addicted to this feeling.

*Smack—!!*

Normally, a hit like that would send someone flying, but Dantalion stood his ground.

Guess he had some pride as the ruler of a city.

If he can take it, that’s good for me.

Spiking a volleyball versus spiking a piece of paper—the feeling is worlds apart.

The same goes for knocking someone down versus them standing their ground.

With eight heads, that’s sixteen cheeks to slap.

No more, no less, let’s stick to sixteen.

As I was about to land the second hit…

He regained his composure and created distance between us.

No need to go all out from the start, so I didn’t pursue.

“To think you’d have this kind of speed… I underestimated you!”

Even though he was clearly sweating buckets, he still bluffed.

Shouldn’t have gathered the townspeople.

Suddenly dragged to the demon realm, almost starved to death.

Finally met some people, only to be harassed by two demons.

Tried to use them as guides, but they were nothing but liars.

The village they took me to was run by a human trafficking ring.

Took down the criminals to hand them over to the city, only to be subdued by the guards.

And now, about to be publicly executed by this ugly demon.

All the grievances I’d endured came rushing back.

“Here I come, you bastard.”

“Wait! If you truly desire it, I can stop this duel…”

Before he could finish, I surged toward him again.

“Damn it!”

*Smack—!!*

“How dare a lowly human!”

*Smack—!!*

“I am Dantalion!”

*Smack—!!*

“Revenge…”

*Smack—!!*

“St-stop!”

*Smack—!!*

“Are you surrendering?”

“S-surrender? To a mere human…!”

“Good. I was worried you’d surrender.”

*Smack—!!*

“S-surre…”

“Shut up.”

*Smack—!!*

“Time to talk…”

“Still eight more to go.”

*Smack—!!*

The townspeople watching began to leave the training ground one by one.

The townsfolk were one thing, but even the guard captain and deputy weren’t intervening.

They said no one should interfere, and they meant it.

Their sense of honor in this situation was quite impressive.

My palms were starting to hurt, so I decided to stop after the promised sixteen hits.

After that, the training ground echoed with the sound of slaps.

 

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