Chapter 24: Disciple or contractor!

Sargatania began to feel annoyed by the swordsman in front of her.

How many years had she run countless times, solely with the obsession of meeting her contractor again?

How long had she poured out her shame and resentment for not being able to protect her contractor that day?

After such a long time, she had finally seized her chance.

Now, the contractor she had longed to meet was right in front of her…

How dare a human who had barely lived a hundred years interfere with that reunion?

How dare he!!

How long had she waited for this moment…!!

The anger rising in her brain seemed to burn.

She wanted to rip the human in front of her and throw him into the fiery pit of hell to make him suffer for eons.

It would have been stranger not to do so.

Demons were extremely impulsive creatures.

How could a race with the words evil and demon in their names be normal?

Expecting great patience from such a demonic being, the lord of such demons, and a being so violent that he was called the demon of struggle and slaughter among the cruel demons, was like asking a tiny ant to lift a rock.

However, Sargatania miraculously showed patience for a moment.

Of course, it was not natural that Sargatania suddenly repented and became a person who would make even a saint cry.

It was only because of her contracted partner, Zion, who was nearby.

‘I have to shake off that fly-like guy… but the contracted partner is involved.

The biggest reason was that she was afraid Ryu Sion would get involved.

Of course, Sargatania’s control was not so bad that she could accidentally touch Zion…

But what if that fly-like swordsman used his contracted partner as a shield?

For Sargatania, who was as good as dead except for herself and her contracted partner, it was a possibility worth considering.

Judging by his interference, it’s something he can do.

Tsk, it’s annoying…!”

And it wasn’t just that reason, but there was also the non-demonic consideration that if it was a connection gained in a new life, at least the sight of that life ending in front of her eyes wouldn’t be so pleasant for the contractor.

It was a non-demonic idea, but it was a contradictory, non-demonic thought that came from having been greatly and deeply influenced by Zion while living with him.

Well, what if this strong person is a demon, and what if he isn’t…

Anyway, with that thought, Sargatania, who snapped her teeth, moved first.

‘Here he comes…!’ Rene Clarent, filled with anger and irritation, sharpened all his senses and focused all his nerves solely on the demon’s movements.

And when the demon moved and the hammer it was holding fell roughly, he dodged it, but soon realized that the blow wasn’t aimed at him.

‘You were aiming for the floor in the first place…?’

Boom!

A large, huge hammer struck the ground.

At the same time, an unpleasant, distant heat rose up intensely.

Tsk-tsk!!!

[Come.]

No defensive measures, no defensive systems that had easily protected the city and the hotel from whatever was coming out of the cracks, were of any use.

The city melted under the distant heat.

Only the ‘city’ melted.

And the melted city rose into the sky, forming a circular space.

Among the people in the city, Rene, who was the only one caught up in the phenomenon, hurriedly wrapped his magic around him and rose into the air instead of standing on the hot, burning ground.

“…This is…”

Even though he was protecting his body with his magic around him, the surging heat penetrated his body.

It was a terrible, terrible heat.

Beyond simple temperature, it was a heat filled with a grudge that would definitely make living beings suffer from this heat.

This space was now made up of a strange land overflowing with such malicious heat.

From the simple size, it seemed to be roughly the size of a city.

And beyond the size, the strange power spreading out on the outskirts seemed to prevent any living being on this land from leaving this place.

‘That’s also it, but it feels like the world itself is divided…?’

It was a different feeling from the dimensional crack or the dungeon derived from the crack.

When his nerves were tense from the sensation he was feeling for the first time, Sargatania came up through the floor in the middle of the burning earth.

[This is part of hell. It’s enough to trap a fly.]

“…Hell?”

Rene frowned.

However, he soon regained his senses.

Whether this was hell or heaven, he knew that the important thing was the monster in front of him.

“Whew, I came to see my disciple on a good note, but what a disaster…”

Rene sighed.

He came here happily because his beloved disciple (actually, he only had one disciple) called him… but he suddenly got caught up in something like this.

Especially since his disciple retired, he went there feeling really comfortable.

Why did something like this suddenly happen…

He was so distraught.

It wasn’t just any ordinary person, but a crazy monster that seemed like no other in the world…

But that didn’t mean he regretted coming here or anything.

If he were going to just watch his proud disciple fall into the hands of such a monster, then he wasn’t worthy of being a master.

“I can’t let something like that happen to my disciple.”

Rene adjusted his grip on his sword. Then, he took a stance.

“Disciple, you really need to buy him expensive food and clothes?”

[You even left a will? That’s a shame for a swindler.]

And Sargatania, who saw that sight, had no intention of being patient anymore.

The demon’s huge body moved, and the massive hammer shot out like lightning, not fitting for its weight.

KWAAAAAAHHH!!!

“You crazy…!”

With just one swing of the hammer, the entire vast land shook, and even that was not enough to absorb the shock. The clouds were torn apart by the shockwave, creating a hole in the sky.

If there was even the slightest mistake, life would immediately be blown away like the wind.

In a situation where one movement would cross the line of fire, the swordsman raised his concentration to the extreme.

I have to attack and defend in one breath!

Kagagak!

As he slid the hammer down with the momentum that could crush even a mountain, the blade drew a graceful circle and scratched the demon’s body.

However, the wound was only a scratch.

Even that healed in an instant, so much so that he didn’t even know it was a wound.

‘Concentration…!

However, there was no time to feel regret about such a thing.

He barely avoided the demon’s outstretched hand and swung his sword, aiming for its lower body.

Immediately after that, the flying hammer was dodged without even the slightest effort to deflect it.

He gathered his strength in his lower body to maintain his balance and endured the wind pressure that would easily pick off a person, then stabbed at the demon’s joint.

“Tsk…!”

However, the demon continued its attacks without even reacting, as if a dog were barking.

Like a giant with a dwarf underfoot, as if it wasn’t even worth caring about!

Kwaaaaang!!!!

‘Argh…! How the hell do I kill that thing…!!’

Rene, who had been swinging his sword and fighting Sargatania without any problems up until now, could not see any strategy at all.

The overwhelming destructive power killed his boldness, and trying to maintain the unity of offense and defense only resulted in light damage.

It felt like fighting a boss monster in a game that was absolutely impossible to beat…!

“You have to focus on taking them down, not killing them! If you try to kill them, you will eventually get hit!”

In the end, the only conclusion was that he had to constantly cross that terrible line of fire to create an opening.

However, if Rene had bad luck…

[I’m sick of it.]

Sargatania had also come to a conclusion.

If you can’t catch flies, just blow them all away.

The devils were a race that could burn down an entire house to catch a single lice.

Hwa-hwa—flames rose, and Sargatania’s hellfire burned the sky without warning.

“Me, chin…! This is foul play…!!”

Rene glared and swung his sword, unable to just sit back and die while panicking at the sudden change in the level of attack.

Chiiii…!

“Kh, huh…!!”

He let out a ragged breath as his lungs burned.

With the desperate swing of his sword, he barely managed to survive.

“The sword…”

Instead, his ligaments buckled and his muscles creaked, but the blade was half-melted.

Even the sword that had barely helped him hold on had gone bad.

How to break out of this desperate situation… before he could even think about it, Rene Clarent witnessed the sky turn red.

“Ah…”

The sky was dyed red.

And right in the middle of it… the sun was falling.

Khuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…!!!!!

Just before that small sun reached the small hanging garden, tsk-tsk!!!!

A blue flash of light flew in, piercing through the bottom of hell and straight through the sun.