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Book 1 Chapter 205: Hell (2)

[This is a shallow land.]

Lord muttered, looking down at the land of the Demon World.

He never thought about conquering this world. After all, it was clear why this place was called Hell.

[Don’t you think so?]

“Compared to the continent, it is.”

Iris smiled.

“Can I ask why you called me here?”

[There’s something I want you to do.]

“Please say it.”

[Send Nozdog to Hitume Ikar.]

Iris’ expression changed at those words.

“At this point, if Nozdog is absent, then the power of the main force will be greatly reduced, wouldn’t it?”

[That’s right. But it’s not something you need to worry about.]

“…I see, but…”

[But what?]

Humour could be heard in Lord’s voice.

[Are you currently occupied with something else?]

The moment she heard that, Iris felt an unknown chill. But she was used to hiding her feelings, so it didn’t show.

Instead, she answered naturally.

“Busy? What could I possibly be busy with?”

[You are borrowing my power. Except for me, you are the only person who could enter the Demon World.]

“I know that.”

[Huhu.]

Lord’s low laugh was disturbing.

Iris looked at him in silence. He was still looking down at the Demon World’s earth with his back to her, so she couldn’t see his expression or tell what he was thinking.

No. She wouldn’t have been able to tell even if she could see his face. After all, he didn’t have any features.

But as soon as Lord turned around to face her, Iris realised that her prediction was wrong.

“Hup.”

Iris couldn’t help but take a breath.

Lord’s face was now clearly revealed to her. He had eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

But they were all positioned in a bizarre manner. His mouth was vertical, extending from his forehead to his chin, four eyes, and an innumerable amount of flaring nostrils.

[Iris Phisfounder.]

Lord smiled hideously with his large vertical mouth.

[If a tail is too long, it’s bound to be stepped on.]

* * *

Jenta looked down at Frey with a laugh.

He never thought he’d come to Perunaya on his own.

‘A prey caught in a spider’s web.’

Of course, that didn’t mean he would take him lightly. After all, it was still unclear just how powerful this Wizard truly was.

However, this was the place where most of the assassins Jenta had raised were located.

Even if it was the king of the country, Jenta was confident that if he dared to set foot in this city, he would be assassinated without a trace.

It wasn’t even worth mentioning that this was clearly an irrational Wizard. For generations, even collected Wizards were the easiest targets for assassinations.

Their bodies were filled with openings.

They were very different from the Magic Warriors, who always fought on the edge of the blade, the Knights, who were covered in heavy armors, or the Sorcerers, who could employ all manners of unpredictable tricks.

Their entire bodies were open when they walked, ate, slept, or even when they were on guard. And during the time it took for them to cast spells was the perfect time to assassinate them.

‘How should I kill him?’

He came to Hitume Ikar without properly understanding his target. If he was to kill him in a straightforward manner, then it wouldn’t be able to resolve the grievances he had inside.

He felt it would be good to pull out his nails first. Or melt the tips of his toes off with poison.

People usually died in shock if their lower bodies suddenly disappeared. But this man was a powerful Wizard, so he should have been able to last a bit longer.

Most people did not have a good resistance to physical pain.

As Jenta was wondering how he should kill him, Frey’s expression changed slightly.

“…”

They had already been staring at each other for some time.

Jenta knew that.

Nevertheless, he was unable to give the order to attack hastily.

What was the reason?

He wondered to himself.

Frey’s body was full of openings. That he was certain about.

With just a single gesture, he was sure that this man’s body would become a ball of meat.

‘Yet…’

He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to give the order.

Jenta felt that his palms had become wet without him realising.

‘Am I nervous?’

Crunch.

He grit his teeth subconsciously.

Nervousness, fear, dread. These were words that should have no connection to him.

Until he met the Demigods.

Faced with them, he had no choice but to abandon his arrogance. And he believed that he had grown to the next level, both as a human and as an assassin.

Now that he thought about it, this situation was very similar to the one of that time.

When he first met Ananta, he’d also felt that his body was full of openings. The Jenta at that time had quickly narrowed the distance. In his head, he could already see the scene of his sword slicing through Ananta’s throat.

But the moment he was tossed to the floor was when he realised it was all an illusion.

He was shocked.

He’d actually thought that he could kill a great being that had lived for thousands of years. He’d been drunk on his own lethal power.

But that illusion was shattered when he saw Ananta’s power. Even the little hesitation he had in his heart disappeared after he learned of Lord’s existence.

Jenta decided to compromise.

He decided to consider the Demigods as beings on a completely different level than humans. That was his last bit of pride.

He would recognise the Demigods as the true superior species. And he wouldn’t hesitate to bow his head or borrow their strength.

But if it was anything else, he wouldn’t lose. He would kill it.

That was what he thought.

‘Yet…’

He didn’t know why he was nervous.

Jenta stepped back.

Before he knew it, the ridicule had disappeared from his face.

“…kuk.”

Jenta bit his lip, using the sharp pain to calm his mind.

Then, he regained his composure while calmly wiping the blood from his lips.

‘He’s just a Wizard at best. There’s no reason to be scared of him.’

Several years had passed since he became an Apostle, and his mental power was many times more powerful than it had been. He’d successfully developed his own style of assassination by incorporating his divine power into his techniques.

For him, Ananta’s power was like adding wings to a tiger.

A small bottle of poison was enough to contaminate an entire lake. That was how deadly Ananta’s poison was.

With a stiff expression, he raised one hand.

“First generation.”

Paht.

The assassins in the dark moved simultaneously.

This was the best terrain for them to move as they pleased. It was dark, there were many places to hide, and there was limited space to move.

Of course, the fact that there was limited space to move was only from the prey’s perspective. For them, this space was not a constraint at all. Instead, it was close to an advantage as it made it possible for them to reach their prey more efficiently.

But in the very next moment, they realised that all of these advantages were meaningless.

Flash!

Something blue fell from the sky.

Jenta closed his eyes in an instant. If he had been a moment slower, it was possible that he would’ve been blinded.

Strong light filled the entire alley.

Boom!

Then, a noise loud enough to shake heaven and earth was heard. It was a loud explosion as though a meteorite had fallen from the sky.

Of course, he knew that a meteorite hadn’t fallen.

Before he could open his eyes, the first thing that greeted Jenta was a smell. It was a strange smell, but it was one he was familiar with.

It was the smell of burnt skin.

Jenta opened his eyes.

And immediately regretted it.

Black lumps of charcoal were scattered everywhere. Without any difficulty, Jenta realised that they were the first generation assassins.

Dozens of burned bodies were scattered around Frey.

“H-… ow.”

Total annihilation.

This elite group, which had carried out dozens of missions without receiving even a single scratch, had been completely decimated.

Jenta’s expression was one of shock.

He shook his head.

“Th-, that wasn’t magic.”

That was not like magic at all.

The first generation had a lot of experience fighting against Wizards. They were well aware that when mana erupted around a Wizard; it was both a crisis and an opportunity.

There were no fools amongst them who didn’t know the dangers and destructive power of magic and the flaws.

Yet it was this elite group who had been turned into charcoal before they even had a chance to properly respond.

In addition, the attack just then had been enough to immediately turn humans into charcoal, but there wasn’t even a single mark on the surrounding structures.

Jenta wondered if he was dreaming.

“It’s not magic.”

As he responded to Jenta’s words, Frey took a step forward. And Jenta took a step back without realising it.

It was both fortunate and unfortunate that Jenta did not notice this fact.

It was true to say that Wizards could only serve as prey for assassins. Even 7 star Wizards, crowned as Archmages, would have trouble against them. Perhaps even an 8 star Wizard would struggle.

Jenta’s power and the addition of his hidden assassins were truly troublesome.

High ranking assassins were able to read the movement of mana. They would keep their eyes on the Wizard’s every gesture and listen to even the softest murmurs. To observe their target, they would raise their concentrations to the limit.

However, their detection abilities didn’t work on 9 star Wizards. Frey could move his mana without them noticing, and he could cast spells without chanting or doing any prior actions.

He could even use their keen senses to set traps for them. It was the same just then.

‘They thought I would use a defensive spell.’

He pretended to be on the defensive on purpose. And the assassins were unable to see through Frey’s trick.

This wasn’t because they lacked foresight. Instead, it was because Frey’s control over his mana was too outstanding.

It was not that they were wrong but that they had been blinded by their own eyes.

“Second generation! Third generation! Don’t get close to him! First, we’ll pressure him with long distance attacks! No, we have to determine his attack range…”

“This entire city.”

It could just be a low-handed trick, but Jenta had no time to listen to it. Frey had reached close enough to touch him.

‘When?’

‘No. How did he even get there?’

‘Did he use Blink?’

‘No. That didn’t matter.’

Jenta’s face became clouded by rage.

“You… bastard!”

It was a very primitive rage.

He had never heard of a Wizard who dared to get close to an assassin.

It was something that would never have happened if they were treating their opponent seriously.

‘No.’

He forcibly regained his calm. Unexpected things kept happening consecutively, but it could just be the other’s plan.

‘You’re too arrogant, Wizard!’

Such a close distance. This was an opportunity like no other.

Each assassin had their secret weapons, and Jenta’s were particularly deadly.

There was no way he would miss at this distance. It would definitely mean certain death.

Paht.

What Jenta revealed was a simple-looking awl. Six of them.

He put them between his fingers and crossed his arms. His expression became extremely serious at that moment.

‘If you can block this, I’ll admit you are better than-’

Jenta didn’t get to finish his thought.

A white light from Frey covered his head.

“…”

Then, Jenta’s body, which had lost its head, collapsed to the ground. He hadn’t even realised how he’d died.

“L-, leader!”

“Impossible…”

Even when the first generation had been annihilated, the group of assassins hadn’t wavered or been so distracted.

Naturally, Frey would not miss this chance.

He was aware of the location of every single one of them.

There were 129 left.

Chchch!

A stream of lightning went through the ground and engulfed them.

The assassins weren’t even given the chance to scream. Just like the first generation, they all quickly became lumps of charcoal.

“…”

Frey looked around.

Jenta and the assassins had been wiped out.

They were dead. It was not a trick, nor was it a mistake.

Frey was certain that he’d killed Ananta’s Apostle, Jenta.

Nevertheless, Frey’s expression did not look good. Instead, he felt incredibly uncomfortable.

‘Is this it?’

He felt like something was stuck in his throat.

Jenta’s ability to hide was amazing. But he should have known that he would be unable to hide from the Great Medium.

Did the Demigods not know that too?

‘That’s not possible.’

They were the type to pay attention to their weaknesses. If they weren’t certain of their safety, they would not have rushed over to Hell.

Then… was it possible that they disconnected from their Apostles? So that even if the Apostle was killed, the Demigods wouldn’t go into hibernation?

If that was the case, then Ananta would not have needed to care about Jenta any longer.

That was a possibility. But Frey didn’t think that chance was very high.

Even if such a thing were possible, it would not have been something that could be done quickly or easily.

‘…the most plausible hypothesis is that they were confident in Neptunus’ protection.’

The chimera that Leyrin had made was quite strong. If it wasn’t Dro and Frey, but someone else, they would have suffered.

This was especially because they would be forced to face him in the sea, a terrain that was most advantageous to him.

It was possible that Ananta overestimated the power of Neptunus. As long as he could protect Hitume Ikar, Jenta would be perfectly safe.

He might have thought so.

‘It’s too lax.’

It was too sloppy.

He was certain that they knew Agni was dead. Yet they were acting like this?

Frey couldn’t help but feel anxious.

‘I have to contact Asura.’

The quickest way to check if Ananta was hibernating was to ask a ruler of Hell directly. But Asura no longer responded to Frey’s calls.

‘Should I get Sheryl to contact Lilith?’

The two seemed to be close. At least closer than Frey and Asura.

But he wasn’t sure if Lilith would respond.

‘Should I find another Contractor?’

One who had signed a contract with a High rank Demon who wasn’t a Demon Lord. He could use them to help him pass on a message to Asura.

However, Frey’s concerns soon became useless.

“Hello.”

Frey looked back in shock.

Without him noticing, a man had appeared behind him.

‘I couldn’t feel his presence.’

That fact alone made Frey’s expression harden.

“Who are you?”

When Frey asked this in a vigilant voice, the man smiled.

“Lucifer.”

“…!”

The Lord of the Corrupted Hell!

Frey breathed in sharply.

This was his first time meeting this man in person, but he couldn’t help but raise his guard.

He wasn’t sure if this man was truly Lucifer, but it was clear that this was no ordinary person since he was able to evade his senses.

‘Even though demons can’t use their full strength in the Mortal World…’

He felt a sense of portent that couldn’t be hidden.

God’s words appeared in his mind at that moment.

The flaw of heaven, who knew the true background of Lord and the Demigods. And the man who had devoured the real balance of Hell.

How should he react?

“…what business do you have with me?”

“I came to make an offer.”

“An offer?”

“Right. An offer.”

Lucifer looked at Frey without hiding his interest.

“Would you like to go to Hell with me, Great Mage?”