The 4th Great Demon, Gamigin—the one who passed herself off as an absolute in hell was also an object of fear for humanity.
A presence that couldn’t be resisted.
Their willpower to fight itself was broken. It would’ve been the same even if the troops were in a complete state, but now it was a situation where the army had withdrawn. It wasn’t a system that the thousands of players could defy with just courage. It was physically impossible due to all types of abnormal conditions.
“Get out of the way.”
“You can’t.”
The central barracks was noisy.
It was due to Braham, who used Alarm magic and was preparing to go out, and the 10 meritorious retainers who tried to stop him.
“It is Lauel’s order to retreat if the situation isn’t favorable.”
“……”
Are you asking me to take someone else’s order now?
Braham felt derisive, but he had nothing to say. It was because Lauel often represented Grid. Most of Lauel’s will was Grid’s will.
“Certainly, it is a good situation to be killed.”
Braham checked the war situation. New demons and demonic creatures were crawling out behind Gamigin, who was accompanied by as many as three legendary souls. These ugly things were like bugs in a manure bucket.
On the other hand, the allies were beasts who had lost their strength. They lost the army and was mentally pushed. Their bodies were covered in wounds as the price for fighting alone. They weren’t in a state to fight against Gamigin and a swarm of bugs.
Mercedes also couldn’t afford to take on Gamigin. She was responding to Barbatos’ sniping, which started the moment Gamigin appeared. If she didn’t stop the shooting, then their troops would be destroyed in an instant.
‘Euphemina and Kyle are also at their limit.’
10 days at the Abyss was actually very difficult for Braham. This was even though he regained his power as a direct descendant. A lich’s magic was often called infinite, but in reality, it wasn’t infinite. In the same way, the health of a direct descendant vampire wasn’t infinite. In the first place, the blood of the demonic creatures was of low quality. Every time he sucked blood, it was disgusting enough that he wanted to vomit, let alone barely satiating his hunger.
Thus, Braham had always relied on his colleagues. He relied on others. It was unthinkable when living with the blood kin. It was due to the defects in the blood kin’s abilities and values rather than Braham’s personality. In fact, Pagma was his friend and he relied on Pagma.
Mercedes, Euphemina, Kyle, the dukes of the empire, and even the 10 meritorious retainers such as Peak Sword were competent people Braham could rely on. Braham paid particular attention to Kyle among them.
‘Why is he afraid of me?’
A human born with a rare power mutation. It was even the power of lightning, which was close to an all-rounder. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it could cause tinnitus. Additionally, he had accumulated transcendence and could be called one of the strongest, but he was more afraid of Braham than necessary.
Braham was puzzled by him, but naturally accepted it. He just passed over it by saying Kyle had discerning eyes. The tearing off of Kyle’s arm during the fierce battle with Mumud wasn’t a big event for him. He didn’t expect Kyle to be afraid of him due to this incident. It wasn’t a big deal to have an arm cut off. Additionally, Kyle’s arms seemed intact on the surface.
‘His physical strength is poor compared to his discerning eyes and skills.’
Kyle was looking at Gamigin with sunken eyes.
His relieved legs were trembling slightly once the retreat was decided.
‘The power is excessively high,’ Braham evaluated him.
The reason why transcendents were easily exhausted was because their movements transcended human limits. Their body was also beyond the human category, but this wasn’t enough.The obvious example was Shunpo. This level of movement put a great burden on the body and gave the brain a burning sensation. Moreover, Kyle moved in a superior manner than ordinary transcendents. The power of lightning was so great that paradoxically, he became tired even quicker.
This was the fundamental problem. It was hard to overcome, but Braham knew the solution.
“Kyle, tie up Gamigin’s feet while we retreat.”
“……”
Kyle’s expression stiffened. Currently, Braham was the one in the most normal state. Besides, he was the strongest. There was no one else more suitable for tying up Gamigin’s feet, but he was transferring responsibility.
“…Tens of thousands of demonic creatures are pushing in like a tsunami. It will be dangerous. I’d rather open up the retreat while you attract Gamigin’s attention…”
“You have too many useless words.”
‘He is a wicked vampire.’
Was it because he was a race that used human blood as food? Braham had a really cruel side. It was clear that he treated humans as livestock without seeing them as equal. Thus, Grid, who tamed him as a subordinate, felt even greater.
The disgruntled Kyle sighed and looked back at Gamigin. She stood on the ground with four legs and was reminiscent of a giant tree. She seemed to take root in the earth. The moment she took a step, the cracked ground would surge like a wave.
‘Damn.’
This time, the probability of dying was high—Kyle had this feeling as he stepped forward. Rather than refusing the order and being executed on the spot, he judged that he would have a better chance of survival in a struggle against Gamigin.
‘Create the opportunity to run away while fighting…’
Boooom!
“……”
Kyle’s thoughts stopped. It was the aftermath of seeing a fireball falling in front of him and penetrating the ground in a straight line.
Don’t tell me it reached the inner core of the earth?
Kyle looked up while having ridiculous worries and made eye contact with a soul soldier wearing a robe.
A being with a translucent blue body—the appearance was blurry, but Kyle noticed his identity instantly. A being who used magic with a power comparable to that of Braham. There were only two such beings in history—Haksen, with the Highest Point Magic, and Jessica, with the Echo Magic. They were legendary great magicians who were active in the pre-Braham era.
‘Based on the density of magic, it must be Haksen. I am going to die to this guy before even attracting Gamigin’s attention.’
There were even two more beings equivalent to Haksen. A man carrying a greatsword bigger than Kyle’s height on his shoulder and a giant bigger than Gamigin. His height approached four meters.
‘I never expected to see a giant in my lifetime.’
To be exact, it was the soul of a dead giant, but anyway—
Kyle was buffed by Euphemina and Ruby and shot forward as a bolt of lightning. He broke through the baptism of magic, used his own strength to get rid of the greatsword digging at his side, and avoided the baptism of bullets fired from the giant’s pair of gauntlets by using Shunpo.
It was truly a dog-like situation. He hadn’t wanted to use Shunpo in order to save his strength, but he ended up using it. It couldn’t be helped even if it was regrettable. Who would’ve expected a machine gun to be fired with gauntlets? He only considered the possibility of taking out a magic machine.
‘There must be a large amount of ancient artifacts.’
Kyle’s guess was correct.
Gamigin’s power was to embody and dominate the life of the soul. The appearance here was that of their prime and the items used at that time were included. In the first place, what was the point of resurrecting the bare body? Gamigin’s demon power was to ‘read the memories of the target’ and the reason she had her subordinates protect the soul vault was to effectively utilize her power.
The great magician Haksen, the giant, and the swordsman who used a greatsword—Kyle’s body soared high into the air after breaking through the three legends and he reached Gamigin. The moment he arrived at this place using Shunpo, he was kicked by Gamigin’s hind legs. It was natural for the 4th ranked Great Demon to read the path of Shunpo. It was only Braham who could gain the upper hand over Gamigin by consuming mana instead of physical strength to use infinite Teleport.
‘This damn thing…’
This was the end. There was no answer at all. He should’ve tried to rebel against Braham instead.
Kyle fell down while looking at the distant sky. He regretted it belatedly, only to have a certain feeling.
It was very unfamiliar. It was the feeling of someone’s heart holding up his back. It wasn’t the heart of just one or two people. The willpower of thousands of people sustained him.
He had been shunned by his parents due to his special physique. Since then, he built a wall separating himself from the world. Now a warmth he never felt spread to his heart.
“You should become my soldier too,” Gamigin, who gave chase and appeared right in front of him, sentenced him to death.
Kyle’s expression distorted. ‘I can’t believe I’m feeling this at the last moment.’
He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to be with people normally and share the warm recognition. He tried to ignore it, but the wish was imprinted on his subconscious. Was it only at the moment of death that he started to acknowledge it and experience it as an illusion?
“It isn’t bad…” Kyle smiled bitterly as Gamigin’s nails pierced his chest.
“Kyle!” the players screamed as they opened up the retreat with Braham.
For them, Kyle was a colleague who had walked the line of death with them for 10 days. They even owed him their lives several times. Now, thanks to him grabbing attention, they were able to open up the path to retreat. Putting aside Kyle’s cold personality, the players were already deeply attached to him. They intended to repay the grace in the future, but he was going to die here.
The incensed players had red faces. Some people gritted their teeth with fury, while others wept.
Just then, a dragon appeared with a roar. This absurd development completely broke the willpower of the people. They realized they couldn’t escape anyway and clearly engraved Kyle’s end in their eyes. It was in order to not forget the end of the hero…
Craackle!
Gamigin, who was distracted by the illusion of the gray dragon, hurriedly shifted her gaze. It was due to the dizzying pain being transmitted from her fingertips.
“…You?”
The series of incomprehensible events flustered Gamigin. Kyle’s body, which was pierced by her nails, was burning incandescent. He survived without dying and tightly held the wrist of Gamigin’s hand that pierced his chest.
The world was shocked.
[A legendary lightning warrior has been born!]
The number of demonic creatures that Kyle killed in the war was in the hundreds of thousands. He was a figure comparable to Braham. The ability to rush through the battlefield at lightning speed while scattering lighting was itself specialized in mass slaughter. It was also gorgeous and attracted attention.
Some people called him a hero and others called him a savior. Achievements, skills, and recognition—in every way, Kyle deserved to be a legend. The last sacrifice was nothing more than a catalyst.
“It was a narrow escape.” Braham laughed. He watched Kyle’s back with an encouraging gaze as Kyle burned Gamigin’s blood vessels with a white, burning light. Then he shifted his gaze toward the sky. “Go, Grid.”
He had been constantly hearing words.
Braham was a monster who used the mana in the atmosphere as his senses. During the war, he heard all sorts of rumors about Grid, who hadn’t participated in the war. Most people trusted Grid, but some people speculated that Grid might not be able to act recklessly because he was afraid of losing his reputation. This was a war being watched by the world. It would be a big blow to his image if Grid was defeated in the war. They interpreted it in their own way as Grid becoming a coward.
It was a reasonable guess. The higher the position, the more there was to lose and the more cautious one would become. However, Braham knew that the level of the enemies was too low for Grid to be defeated. “Show us what it means to be the strongest.”
The sky was turbulent. The atmospheric fluctuations spread like a storm and the upper clouds sank. The rapidly blowing lower clouds were as big as the illusion of the gray dragon that appeared and disappeared a while ago. The soaring humidity strengthened Kyle’s lightning.
Kyle’s judgment was quick. The unexpected five second grace period obtained by becoming a legend—it was a type of dying flash. He wasn’t relieved like a fool. He did his best to use lightning speed and shook off Gamigin. At the same time, a god descended.
[Overgeared God Grid has appeared.]
“You!” Gamigin gritted her teeth. She had many unfamiliar experiences recently. It was a very unpleasant experience when things didn’t work out the way she wanted. Not only was she defeated by Braham, but she also lost the external heart that acted as a driving force in her soul storage. Due to this, six legendary souls were lost.
She needed a place to relieve her anger. The wound she received from the sword that created the dragon’s illusion wasn’t very big. Gamigin had Judar’s blessing. It was the protection of absolute defense. Of course, it wasn’t as good as a dragon’s absolute defense. There were vital spots. However, it was limited to local areas and even those were thoroughly guarded.
The current Gamigin was invincible. She wasn’t afraid of either a dragon or a god. She was shocked by the dragon illusion a little while ago, but it was just at the level of being flustered. The opponent was the Overgeared God, who defeated Baal’s ego fragment, but there was no way she would be intimidated.
Gamigin’s fists stretched out and struck Grid dozens of times. In the process, sonic booms exploded behind Grid as he twisted back and forth and tilted his body back. Dozens of demonic creatures were swept away in the aftermath and died. However, Grid wasn’t pushed back. The moment he allowed the blow, his sword had already cut Gamigin’s chest. The illusion of the gray dragon passed through Gamigin’s body.
“……?!”
Once again, the wound wasn’t big. Even so, Gamigin stepped back. It was a reflexive action. It wasn’t simply because she was intimidated by the illusion of the dragon.
‘What?’
It hurt. She was so flustered just now that she wasn’t aware of it, but she felt a clear pain. Her vital point wasn’t cut, so it wasn’t possible.
‘Did something go wrong?’
The instinct that told her the current situation was a crisis suppressed her anger. She lost her sense of reason. Why didn’t Judar’s blessing work properly? Gamigin felt the need to clearly understand the situation. She widened the distance with Grid as much as possible and let Haksen, Tzudan, and Filewolf advance.
The souls of the legends immediately responded to Gamigin’s will. They ignored the magic of Braham and Euphemina, and made attacking Grid a top priority. A transparent magic machine emerged from underground due to Filewolf’s will. It stood tall in the center of the battlefield and the huge mass boasted an overwhelming dignity. It was enough to cause people to shrink back.
However, the magic machine immediately sank down to the ground. It was weighed down by the mass of Greed that fell from the sky.
Grid had reached Haksen. 30 God Hands shook off Tzudan and drew hundreds of sword cuts. Haksen was used as drawing paper to connect the Link-derived sword dances. It was from head to toe. Grid slashed all parts of Haksen’s body. In response, the illusion of the gray dragon spread throughout the battlefield before disappearing. The scene of hundreds of thousands of demonic creatures paralyzed on the ground with fear was close to unrealistic.
Haksen’s soul crumbled. There were thousands of cracks before he collapsed and turned into gray ash. It happened in an instant.
“I found it.”
What?
‘Don’t tell me?’
Grid’s shiny eyes caused a chill to go down Gamigin’s spine. Gamigin took a step back. She was so flustered that she committed an ugly act without realizing it.
