CH 29

Tina, Deran and Derakal performed their duties steadily.

All of the sleeping soldiers were thrown out into the woods just outside the castle, on which they’ve received quite a lot of help from the surrounding animals.

As soon as they heard the message that the Warrior had come to the devil’s hall, the three were already on their way back to the castle.

Tina bit her lips tightly.

‘That annoying piece of work.’

Tina cursed inside.

“Guys, who do you think will win in the fight between the Warrior and the Devil?”

Tina, who was riding on Derakal’s back, suddenly asked them. Deran and Derakal answered her question at the same time without any hesitation.

[Warrior.]

[Of course the Warrior.]

Tina’s lips slightly twisted at their sharp answer. It’s the response that she didn’t want to hear in the first place.

“How come neither of you have any confidence in the Devil? I think it will be the Devil who will definitely win.”

Derakal replied with a loud snort at Tina .

[I’m not sure, because if I’m the current Devil at this moment, I know that I would never be able to fight against him.]

[I have the same opinion.]

Even though the Warrior seems a little bit foolish, the Devil is much more foolish in every aspect.

The Warrior mainly handles the swords, while the Devil deals with magic.

Magic is overwhelmingly good against a large number of opponents, but not in one-on-one fights, even in close combat.

[Our devil can’t even use teleportation. While the former devil used to fly around and despise all human beings.]

“The Devil might be good at other things except for that . And there may be some things that people are not good at, hey, why are you discouraging me?”

Tina exclaimed.

[She’s not a human, but the Devil. And it’s not like I’m discouraging you, It’s just that with the situation right now, it’s possible that she will die. That is also the reason why we have to go back even one hour faster.]

The two were already running fast, but they picked up the speed even more.

Tina hugged Derakal’s neck tightly, fearing that she might fall backwards at their current speed.

Both of them were the henchmen of the Devil, and of course they knew that the Warrior was sure to win, that’s why they didn’t feel good inside. And they couldn’t help but show their anxiety.

Tina muttered in a trembling voice.

“…So there’s no chance that the Devil will win?”

[Well…]

Deran seemed to be troubled for a moment, and then spoke in a resigned tone.

“Unless she can completely penetrate the Warrior’s thoughts and actions, then it’s going to be tough.”

~*~

(3rd person POV)

“Pain.”

Haron hurriedly pulled out his sword and stepped back.

As soon as he stepped back, a black circular pattern appeared on the floor that he was standing on. He tried to avoid it, but the tip of his cloak touched it lightly and it scorched with a sizzling sound.

“…You’re crazy.”

He clenched his teeth as he muttered.

After several encounters with the Devil, his assessment was that the power of the Devil itself was worthy to be dealt with. It was surprising compared to its vicious reputation.

The magical power that the Devil is using was so weak to think that she was only making it easier for him.

If he can do well, maybe he can win this fight. However, that would only be possible if he can approach the Devil in close contact.

‘But the approach itself is very difficult.’

As if the Devil knew that theory, it sealed all of his possible movements.

It knew how to react to even a small gesture and blocked it one step ahead. Even if he tried to fake it, it was still the same.

“Ah, agh…”

Haron made some frequent mistakes that didn’t usually happen just because he was very impatient to be in close contact with the Devil somehow.

And the Devil didn’t miss even just a little gap.

“Pain.”

“I said stop.”

Once again Haron’s approach was blocked. This time, he couldn’t avoid it properly, and his ankle that touched the circular pattern almost broke his feet.

He breathed heavily with numerous wounds all over his body. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, since he wasn’t fully a human. It’s only natural that he would feel burnout because of the continued fight that he had.

“Are you tired? If you’re tired, you can just go back. All those people who came to this castle are gone, and you’re the only one left.”

“You’re so noisy.”

Haron replied irritably. The honorifics were long gone.

Obviously, he knows that the Devil’s way of speaking isn’t like what he thinks, but it sounded like a mockery to his ears.

‘Still, I haven’t found anything yet.’

Although he breathed heavily, his gaze was still focused on the fingertips of the devil.

Then, when her finger lifted a little, he slammed that spot and jumped down the stairs.

And then he saw a subtle haze rising up from where he was standing.

“As expected…your power of pain is within a certain range.”

The Devil’s shoulder flinched a little at Haron’s words, which seemed certain.

“The ability to spread only on the floor of a certain height. Perhaps it’s weakness is a terrain with a large drop, or a place such as a staircase.”

“…So smart.”

Lucia nodded her head.

He already knew her ability just after a few tries, but he didn’t just notice her range of skills in this fight today, he also figured out her weaknesses.

That was the reason why, when she first used the power of pain in the land of the demons, she had no choice but to attack even Haron.

Because it applies to everyone that’s within range.

“But knowing that doesn’t make it easy.”

Lucia created several magic spheres in her hands.

And it went all over the hall. But it wasn’t really aimed directly towards Haron.

After the brief spell was over, inside the hall, except for the stage on the throne on which she was standing, the stairs and pedestals were smashed and the terrain was flattened.

Her magica skills were unimaginable, but this is the Devil’s Castle and the Devil’s Hall.

Her magical powers have jumped several times elsewhere. That’s where the Devil realized that she’s no longer fighting him within the hall where the circular magic was formed.

“I just have to get rid of those places where you can avoid me”

“I didn’t realize that, but that’s a good idea.”

“Thanks for the compliment. But now, there’s no more place for you to escape the pain. I’ll show you my last mercy, so run away.”

“Last mercy?”

Those contradictory words made him laugh without him realizing it.

The last pain magic is to be frozen to death. The Devil clearly had a chance to kill him once and for all.

Is it because the Devil is merciful or is she teasing him just because he’s being petty?

With that in mind, he asked.

“I won’t wait long. If you pass out in pain, then I’ll be taking you directly to the human village.”

“…You’re not saying that you’re going to kill me.”

Haron staggered back to his feet and pointed the sword at the Devil.

But his body failed to comply with his will and fell forward again.

[…Tsk, stupid thing]

He kept hearing a voice in his head.

In fact, even before he met the Devil, that voice was constantly nagging him.

[You won’t even listen to me even if I help you, you’re done. Under the power of pain, do you think you’ll be able to survive?]

In fact, there’s nothing wrong with what the voice was saying.

He knew better because he had once been subjected to the power of pain. The pain that made his whole intestine burn from pain, it was unbearable.

He couldn’t avoid it during the battle and got hit a few times, but he felt an intense pain as if his body was being ripped off into pieces.

This time, the Devil said that she would not stop until he collapsed, so that means he’s done for sure.

[Didn’t you say you wanted to defeat the Devil?]

“…Even if that’s the case, I don’t want to be helped by someone like you.”

Haron clenched his fist.

He had been a warrior all his life

Even if it’s by order and violence.

It’s almost a taboo for him to get help from an unknown mahone stone. A visceral repulsion swept all over him.

Furthermore, no one knew whether that power would really help him, or rather backfire at him.

[Such a noble pride. But I think you are the most odious human being that I’ve met.]

“…”

[Are you sure that you’ll be okay? Because If this keeps up, you’ll definitely lose. To that new chick demon.]

Isn’t he already in trouble? He was suddenly awakened, after he realized what the voice meant.

He’s right. He couldn’t die here.

Even if the Devil doesn’t kill him, the moment he loses here, the hero-honor will be swept away to the ground. If that’s the case…

[You have to win. You have to kill the Devil no matter what. That’s the desire that was boiling inside you from the moment you stepped inside the Devil’s Castle.]

The Devil must have been tired of waiting for an answer, that’s why it stretched out its hands toward him as if it was going to use power on him.

[Oh, you had a more important desire than killing the Devil…]

One sentence dominated his black head.

[You want to be happy with her.]

~*~

(Lucia’s POV)

I’ve been waiting for Haron’s next move.

He was stuck on the floor at some point and didn’t move.

Is he in a lot of pain? I think he’s muttering something to himself, but I couldn’t hear him clearly.

It’s not good for him to stay here any longer.

I think It would be better to make it a little more painful and knock him out, so that I can send him back to quickly heal his wounds.

Besides, he won’t be able to fight like this because I had already penetrated his attack pattern, and I’m now stronger than him due to the pain that I’ve given him.

And If there’s even a slight opportunity for him, the tide will be reversed in an instant.

‘This should be resolved as quickly as possible.’

I reached out for him.

The entire hall was scoped within the range so that it would be impossible for him to escape.

I don’t know why I’m in such a rush to subjugate the Warrior. Now let’s end this fight.

I quietly activated the power of pain.

“My patience ends here. I’m sorry, but now…”

As I was talking, I felt as if my eyes had gone dark for a moment. So many things happened at once that I didn’t even know which one came first.

Was it first that I activated my power, or was it the energy of the huge mahone stone that suddenly exploded from the side of the Warrior?

Or maybe it was the Warrior, who kicked off from the ground and rushed off to where I was in an instant.

Hey, there’s never been a pattern like this when I was still playing the Warrior before, right?