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The tension in the air was rising.

Both sides seemed to be looking for each other’s weaknesses, standing still without moving.

“How long are you going to just have a snowball fight? Fight already!”

“Uwooooh!”

Just as the excitement of the soldiers, who had been watching the showdown with wide eyes, began to cool down.

The crocodile and Jeong Ha-yul moved simultaneously.

Kwoong—

Just as Jeong Ha-yul kicked off the ground, it felt like an earthquake had struck, and the floor where Mammon’s soldiers stood cracked.

Asmodeus’s side was similar.

In fact, due to the weight, some of Satan’s soldiers even disappeared into the deep cracks, causing quite a commotion.

And this was just from them charging at each other.

The soldiers in the front row thought they should create some distance before the two clashed, but it wasn’t easy to move back because of the tightly packed crowd.

Amid the soldiers’ confusion, the fists of the crocodile and Jeong Ha-yul finally collided.

Kwaaaaang—

A massive crater formed as their powerful fists met, and the shockwave that followed made it hard to keep their eyes open.

“Kwaaaaaaah!”

Asmodeus, who had retracted his fist first, roared like thunder and swung his fist again.

His attack was fierce and relentless, capable of demolishing several buildings in a single blow.

Surprisingly, Jeong Ha-yul, who had been slightly pushed back in the strength contest, showcased her agility and skill, dodging Asmodeus’s attack.

This came as a shock to the expedition team members, who had never seen Jeong Ha-yul lose in a battle of strength.

She seemed to avoid direct clashes, ducking, deflecting, and sidestepping.

Asmodeus didn’t even care if his attacks landed and kept pressing forward. A sticky, murderous aura enveloped the battlefield.

It seemed like his skills had improved more than twofold since his fight with Jeong Gyeoul.

Only now did they realize that he was no longer an opponent to be taken lightly.

‘Was he hiding this much power…?’

As the saying goes, even a worm will squirm when stepped on, but this was no worm—it was a snake. Jeong Ha-yul sighed, realizing the fight she thought would be easy was becoming incredibly difficult.

At this rate, a victory without injuries seemed impossible.

Jeong Gyeoul, who didn’t want to see Jeong Ha-yul get hurt, was getting increasingly frustrated.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—

Whatever Jeong Gyeoul was thinking, the two fighters had no time to care.

As Jeong Ha-yul raised her arm to block, Asmodeus’s fist pierced through her guard and struck her body.

Her sturdy legs tried to push against the ground to withstand the blow, but after four shockwaves, Jeong Ha-yul was finally lifted off the ground.

Before she could stabilize herself in mid-air, Asmodeus’s shadow loomed above her.

With both fists clenched, Asmodeus slammed her down.

Kwaaaang—

Jeong Ha-yul, hit by an attack infused with both magic power and weight, created a crater deep enough to bury dozens of soldiers as she was slammed into the ground.

“….”

Jeong Gyeoul’s face twisted as she could only watch.

She had explained to the expedition team before departure that this was a dangerous mission where lives could be lost, and acting emotionally could lead to annihilation.

But seeing Jeong Ha-yul being attacked like this, she felt like she couldn’t stay rational anymore.

“Calm down, Gyeoul. Let’s trust your sister.”

If it weren’t for Lee Ha-yoon, who grabbed Jeong Gyeoul’s hands tightly, she would have already charged at Asmodeus.

Ptui—

Jeong Ha-yul, who had crawled out of the crater, spat out blood-tinged saliva.

Asmodeus let out a hollow laugh, clearly not expecting her to be relatively unscathed after such an attack.

Thanks to that, Asmodeus’s attacks paused for a moment.

“I’ll take responsibility and finish you off.”

Not missing the opportunity, Jeong Ha-yul raised her knee and brought it down.

Jjeo-jjeo-jjeo-jeok—

With a bizarre noise that seemed to tear the earth, condensed magic power erupted from the ground beneath Asmodeus’s legs.

The distance between where she struck and where the magic erupted was considerable, and Asmodeus’s reaction was delayed.

He tried to lift his leg, but the magic had already reached him.

A sharp, tingling sensation vibrated through his body, causing his leg to go limp.

Jeong Ha-yul didn’t miss the brief moment when the crocodile’s body stiffened. She charged forward, gathering all her magic power.

As she reached right in front of him, she planted her left leg firmly on the ground and twisted her waist.

The immense power traveled up her ankle, through her knee, and into her pelvis.

Her twisted waist concentrated the rotational force, which moved through her chest and shoulder into her right arm.

Finally, it gathered in her fist.

Her fist trembled as if it was about to explode, and when it struck, a burst of intense magic and power erupted.

Bwooooooong—

The Demon King Punch, loud enough to rupture eardrums, slammed into Asmodeus’s torso.

The result of the punch was beyond absurd.

It pierced through his tremendous defense power, which had previously deflected most punches, and created a massive hole in his torso.

It was as if she had repaid him for the attack that had buried her in the crater.

“Hah… Hah…”

As if proving she had used all her strength and magic power, her entire body trembled, and she struggled to catch her breath.

Jeong Ha-yul, with her hands on her knees and bent halfway, panted heavily, her gaze fixed on Asmodeus.

Grrind—

Whether it was the sound of grinding teeth or rocks being crushed, Asmodeus, bleeding profusely from the hole in his torso, shot a fierce glare.

“Crazy…”

Despite his bones being shattered and a gaping hole in his torso, his eyes were still alive.

It was only natural for Jeong Ha-yul to curse.

Even after taking what was essentially a finishing move, his eyes showed no sign of defeat, making it seem like any further attacks would be futile.

But Jeong Ha-yul wasn’t one to give up.

Whether it was when she captured Behemoth or when Jeong Gyeoul was kidnapped.

She was a hero who had never tasted defeat, even in the most unreasonable situations.

The hero known as the Demon King took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Almost simultaneously, Asmodeus’s thigh swelled tautly, creating a tremendous impact on the ground.

Kwaaaang!

Though it was just a simple body slam, the power behind it was anything but simple.

It was akin to a missile.

Even Jeong Ha-yul wouldn’t come out unscathed if she took that hit.

Just as Jeong Gyeoul was about to shake off Lee Ha-yoon’s hand and gather her magic power.

Instead of dodging, Jeong Ha-yul charged forward, twisting her body diagonally and using only the strength of her arm to crush the crocodile’s head.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-gak—

The force and speed of her charge met the ground, grinding Asmodeus’s face into the dirt.

***

Thud—

Asmodeus and Jeong Ha-yul collapsed simultaneously.

Their chests rose and fell, but they showed no other movement.

It was clear both were still alive, but the winner was undecidable.

“This match is a draw…”

“F*ck… what are you talking about… I won…”

Just before Satan could finish speaking.

Jeong Ha-yul, trembling, got up and spat out a curse.

Her entire body was covered in blood and sweat, but her eyes still radiated a murderous aura.

The image of the well-behaved sister who usually criticized my behavior was gone, and it seemed like the Demon King had returned.

‘Thank goodness…’

I almost couldn’t hold back and intervened about a dozen times.

Even at the last moment, I tried to gather my magic power, but the expedition team members physically blocked me.

“See! I told you your sister would win!”

“Sigh… I’d rather fight the demon race… stopping an angry Jeong Gyeoul is harder.”

Maybe I, who should have trusted Jeong Ha-yul the most, was the one who doubted her the most.

I ran to the staggering Jeong Ha-yul and supported her.

Since the match was over, neither the expedition team, Satan, Mammon, nor anyone else stopped me.

“You did well. You really did well, sis.”

“…Did you cry? Did you really think this sis couldn’t beat such a weakling?”

“Cry? There was just so much dust from all the commotion!”

A man doesn’t cry.

This is just dust in my eyes.

Really.

I supported Jeong Ha-yul to where Park Seol-hwa was.

I could have carried her or used telekinesis, but…

For some reason, I felt like she wanted to walk.

“You did well.”

“…It was nothing.”

“Sis! You were amazing!”

Jeong Ha-yul sat down, receiving the team’s warm welcome.

Park Seol-hwa opened a potion and poured it over Jeong Ha-yul’s wounds.

“From now on, we’ll have to escort Ha-yul.”

“Huh? We’re supposed to escort someone who can crush a crazy crocodile like that?”

“Gyeoul saw it, right? If Ha-yul had gotten even a little more hurt, she would have pushed us all aside and destroyed the Demon Realm.”

That’s an exaggeration.

I believed in Jeong Ha-yul from the start.

I wasn’t worried at all. Really.

Sigh.

The dust is still bothering me.

 

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