The Demon Realm, a dimension whose entire size was only about the size of a single continent in Auterica.
Furthermore, unlike the harmonious surface world, the Demon Realm possessed extreme conditions, filled with negative energy.
Was it because of the extreme environment inherent in the world itself?
The Demon race, born in the Demon Realm, possessed abilities more specialized for combat compared to ordinary living beings.
Not only did they have basic physical prowess, but as long as they had magic power, they could go without food without any problems, and they instinctively mastered a fighting style suited to them without having to learn anything.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were a race literally born to fight.
However, as a trade-off, and fortunately for the other races of the surface world, they were bound by various restrictions.
It was difficult to escape the Demon Realm, the space that isolated them in the first place, and even if they did manage to get out, having to endure a considerable loss of power was also part of the restriction.
'If it weren't for that, this world would have been constantly at war with demons. The same goes for the angels of the Heavenly Realm.'
But conversely, that meant that the power of the Demon race was maximized within the Demon Realm.
So how much greater would be the power of a Demon Duke, one of the closest to the pinnacle?
[Khoo— Khoo—]
[···Damn it, these damned seeds···!]
That was the reason why Monstrous Duke Syphar had been able to hold out against Hela and Davidson until now.
Although his right head, covered in scales, had been lost and he had deep wounds all over his body, exposing his bones, the tenacious vitality of a demon somehow minimized the loss of combat power.
"···Persistent. As expected of the one they call the strongest in the Demon Realm physically. It seems that wasn't an empty boast?"
"Kahat!"
But that, too, was nearing its end.
Indeed, his physical abilities were as terrifying as rumored, but his opponents were even more monstrous.
Hela, who was flapping her wings slowly as if she owned the world, looked down at the two-headed dog below with arrogant eyes.
The cross-section of his torn neck was constantly wriggling, regenerating in real time.
However, the speed was incredibly slow, unbefitting his reputation.
At that rate, it would probably take at least a few days to fully recover.
'It's surprising that it's like that even after I used 「Devouring God」 to devour the very concept itself.'
It was probably possible because his essence, containing his demonic power, was still intact.
Recovering from such an injury in just a few days was impressive enough, but since the concept itself of that area had been stolen by Davidson, the power lost during the recovery process would not be insignificant.
'I can't just leave it like that. That essence is no longer yours. It's all mine.'
With such shameless thoughts, Hela licked her lips after pulling the whip in her hand tautly a few times.
At the same time, Davidson wriggled his tongue, drooling from his three mouths.
Of course, such a sight was nothing more than a provocation to the one facing them.
'Damn it, damn it! Where did these bastards come from? Leraje should have died on the expedition without leaving anything behind! Are you telling me I'm being held back like this now?'
Syphar gritted his teeth fiercely.
They were looking at him as prey just about to be caught.
It was an unbearable humiliation for him, who had reigned at the top of the Demon Realm for so long.
But the problem was that it was now a reality right in front of him.
'No! I can't die like this! How much have I struggled to survive until now! And to be defeated by some mongrels I don't even know where they came from, not even a dragon?!'
He hadn't lived this hard for this.
He hadn't challenged the Demon King's throne repeatedly, tasting defeat, for this kind of ending.
'···Keuk, damn it!'
Finally, he made up his mind.
Even if it meant suffering fatal damage that would make recovery difficult, he decided to escape this place first.
It had been too much to expect to resolve this situation without such a sacrifice.
'If I can just get out of here somehow···.'
By now, the news that his base had been attacked would have spread throughout Abnormal.
With the difference in power and the geographical advantage, he should be able to deal with those bastards if he gathered all the high-ranking demons who were concentrated on the battlefield with Dark Nest.
'How dare they crawl into the heart of my territory! I'll make you pay for that arrogance!'
It wasn't for nothing that each faction used their power to grab land.
In the Demon Realm, rank and power are directly proportional.
But an infiltration operation led by the head himself!
Considering the risk of failure, it was nothing short of a gamble.
Kugugung—!
[I'll melt you all!]
[Awooooo——!]
With a wolf-like roar, crimson flames erupted from Syphar's entire body.
A powerful shockwave spread out from him, and a scorching heat that seemed to incinerate the world itself quickly engulfed the surroundings.
"···Ha, he still had this much power left?"
Hela, who frowned and attacked again, knew.
That Syphar had abandoned all defense and focused all his remaining strength on this one thing.
As the magic barriers and other means that had mitigated the damage disappeared, his massive body, defenselessly allowing attacks, quickly became tattered.
But his opponent was the Monstrous Duke, whose physical prowess surpassed even that of dragons.
While he endured the attacks with pure resilience, the hellfire, which had rapidly increased in scale, began to threaten the 「World of the Demonic Heaven」 itself.
Hwaruruk— Hwaruk!
Naturally, Hela and Davidson couldn't avoid the flames that engulfed and shook the entire space.
The crimson flames licked out their tongues, quickly burning through the magic field that thickly surrounded Hella.
'So it's all or nothing now. Flames that burn everything. If this continues for too long, even I'll find it a bit burdensome.'
As expected of a Duke-class demon.
Clicking her tongue lightly, she gripped the whip tightly and poured in magic power.
If she didn't do this, even this top-grade magic tool from the Demon Realm wouldn't last long and would be damaged.
Chiiiik— Jigle Jigle—
On the other hand, Davidson, a physical-type monster, had no choice but to endure the heat with his bare body.
Being burned by the blazing flames and regenerating endlessly.
Yet, he kept moving his mouths, gulping down the hellfire that touched his lips and charging towards Syphar once more.
[Kkeuk! This persistent bastard! How can he still move in this fire?!]
[Keoheok!]
Finally, his distorted left head was bitten off from the neck by the relentless assault.
Although he resisted as much as possible while spewing flames, he couldn't overcome the gap created by the lack of heads.
Davidson's appearance, relentlessly shoving his maw forward despite being continuously burned by the flames, was as brutal as the gatekeeper of hell.
But at that moment.
The distorted face that was having its neck torn off suddenly grinned viciously.
As if it had already anticipated being defeated like this.
[Kkeuheuhe—! Alright, then I'll send you to hell first!]
Immediately after.
Ssseusut—
A red light flashed from the eyes of the snake attached to Sipar's tail.
And the tremendous heat that was melting the world was instantly sucked into the snake.
As if time had been cut short, all these changes occurred in an instant.
"Kaha?"
Davidson's body, which had been diligently chewing and swallowing the flesh in his mouth, flinched.
The situation suddenly changed without any warning.
He moved his three pairs of eyes and looked at the place where he felt the heat like the sun.
[Keuhahaha! Die!]
The snake's tail slowly crumbled to ashes due to excessive energy concentration.
A final light emanated from its mouth.
Towards him, who was enjoying his meal using his three mouths.
***
Kwaaaaaaaang——!
A huge shockwave erupted, and a beam of light that illuminated the world shot up into the sky.
"Keoheok! Hot···!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Focus on defense! We'll be swept away!"
At the same time, a hellish heat spread throughout the battlefield, one that even most demons would struggle to endure.
The 「World of the Demonic Heaven」, located on one side of the battlefield, collapsed, and the energy trapped inside began to sweep across the area.
"Ugh, this is···?"
"What happened? The Duke?"
"Lady Hela! Is the fight over?!"
The demons, regardless of their affiliation, who had been fighting each other outside, narrowed their eyes and looked towards that direction.
Although the inside was not clearly visible due to the dense magic storm, they couldn't bear to not look.
Because even though they were engaged in such a fierce battle, they all knew.
That the outcome of this battlefield would ultimately be determined by the result of the fight happening there.
Gulp.
Amidst everyone's tension, the sudden magic storm gradually subsided.
And what was revealed there was.
Ppuedeudeuk—
[Kkeueuk! How···!]
A giant head, coughing up blood with its neck strangled by a long whip.
Uejeok Uejeok—
And another monster, skillfully moving its three heads and enjoying its meal with a crushed head in front of it.
"···I was surprised."
Hela, holding a whip in one hand, lightly wiped her forehead with the other.
The heat emanating from Syphar had been so intense that even though she hadn't taken a direct hit, moist sweat had formed on her hand, which had a strong resistance to fire attacks.
"Well, it was a good attempt. Wrong opponent, though."
Hela glanced up at the sky.
Following the trajectory of the beam of light that had disappeared beyond the scar that cut through the purple sky.
To think he would deceive her with a feigned wide-area attack and then use the snake on his tail as a sacrifice to launch a final attack.
The attack, using the hellfire that filled the space as a medium, had an almost instantaneous activation speed despite its power.
So much so that Hela, who was a little further away, didn't even have time to react.
But fortunately, Davidson··· no, Harley had one means left to use at such a time.
Kwadeudeuk— Gulpg!
A green glow faded from one of the three heads that were frantically swallowing the meat as if replenishing their consumed calories.
It was the remnants of '「Jewel Eyes: Coercion」×3', which had forcibly twisted the snake's neck to change the direction of the attack at the critical moment when the muzzle was aimed at him.
'If he had been hit by that···. Hmm, he wouldn't have died, but there would have been a considerable loss of power. He might have even ended up at a loss.'
He couldn't afford to lose now that he had come all the way to the Demon Realm to work as a mercenary.
Fortunately, Harley didn't use this ability often, so it shouldn't matter much.
It wasn't certain whether any enemy could observe what happened inside the 「World of the Demonic Heaven」, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
'Tsk, I got too relaxed because things were going so easily. No matter how overwhelmingly superior I am in terms of power, the opponent is a Duke-class demon who has reigned in this hellish Demon Realm for over a thousand years.'
Even though 「Jewel Eyes: Coercion」had the characteristic of becoming stronger as more energy was poured into it, there was a limit to the output that could be achieved with one or two eyes.
Being a trump card, the snake imbued with hellfire also had extraordinary resistance.
But now he had three heads!
Thanks to the Cerberus factor, the existing heads had been perfectly replicated, and the output of the three Jewel Eyes was preserved. When all three were deployed at full power, they were able to change the angle of the beam from the snake's head to the sky right before it fired.
Although the 「World of the Demonic Heaven」 had been shattered due to the impact, it didn't matter now.
Now that that extreme final attack had failed, the fight was as good as over.
"Oh, Ohhhh···! Woooh!"
"Lady Hela has won! Long live Lady Hela! Long live!"
"Uwaah! The Monstrous Duke!"
"Unbelievable! How? Who are they?!"
Those who had been blankly watching the situation also clearly recognized it.
The scene reflected in their eyes was extremely simple and clear.
The Monstrous Duke, collapsed on the ground with two of his three heads and his tail gone, his whole body battered.
And Hela, unscathed and holding the dog's leash as if she were its owner.
And a pet monster, calmly munching on the Duke's body as if eating hunted prey.
In the Demon Realm, a land of survival of the fittest, things like one-on-one fights held no meaning.
Besides, that creature wasn't even a demon, was it?
Taming and raising a monster was also a skill, and if one was defeated so one-sidedly, there was no room for excuses.
'Keuk, am I failing like this again? Again, this time too···!'
Syphar, who had been humiliatingly subdued, keenly felt the change in the atmosphere.
The popular support that had been directed towards him was leaving in real time.
To the victor of this fight, who held his leash like an owner.
Just like during the 14th Demon King selection, and the 15th Demon King selection.
[···Kkeuk, I lost. I, Syphar, acknowledge you as king.]
In the end, he had no choice but to close his eyes and utter those words.
The faction 'Abnormal' was centered around the sole existence of Monstrous Duke Syphar.
If he held out until the end and died, the members of the disintegrated faction would just find a new lord.
And that would probably be the victor of this fight, who strongly exuded the scent of a Demon King.
'It would be better to submit first. Just like I've done several times before. It's okay. As long as I survive, there will be plenty of opportunities···.'
But at that moment.
"Oh, I'm so sorry about this. Unfortunately, I have a prior engagement."
[···What are you tal··· Keoheok!]
The whip wrapped around his neck tightened even further.
No, that wasn't all.
The whip, wriggling as if alive, began sawing through his neck with its sharp thorns.
[Kkeuk! Wh··· Why! I'm a Duke! With my support, you can be of help against the Shadow and the Dragon! Then you can get closer to being the 'true Demon King'···.]
"I promised to take care of all your Dukes first. A verbal contract is still a contract, you know? It hasn't been long since that conversation, so breaking it unilaterally is a bit···."
Hela winked with a sheepish smile.
She didn't look like someone who was sawing through his neck alive with immense magic power and 「Annihilator」.
"And besides—."
As true death approached, Syphar began to struggle violently.
But it was already far too late.
Davidson was also holding him down with his massive body, but since he had already become the loser and been subdued, there was no way for him to escape the execution of the 「Demon King」 and the pressure of the 「Eyes of Domination」.
"—I'm already the true Demon King."
A chilling remark, uttered with a cold expression as she looked down at him wriggling like a worm.
I don't need your help to deal with the other two.
Just shut up and hand over your essence. That would be more helpful.
That was the final sentence, imbued with many meanings.
[Ha··· Haha···. As expected of you···.]
Puhaak—! Kuung!
A star that had reigned at the top of the Demon Realm for a long time fell to the ground.
Like the weight of its significance, a heavy vibrating sound echoed.
Hella, after hearing his last words and seeing his subtle expression—an expression too complex to describe—threw his head to Davidson, who was proudly holding down his body like a hunting dog, and immediately extracted the Gue Lang Duke's essence.
If the essence remained in the body, it could regenerate even after a long time, but once it was extracted, even that slightest possibility disappeared.
Like that.
Hwaaak—
A polyhedron that seemed to have a red flame burning inside came into her hand.
A Duke-class essence, equal to the Succubus Queen's essense.
The waves emanating from the rare object spread in all directions.
Seureureuk— Thud— Thud!
Those surrounding her began to kneel one by one.
Starting with Hela's followers, including Dream Walker, and then even Abnormal's minions, who had been fighting until just a moment ago.
Like a single ritual—they offered worship and fear to the victorious ruler.
"Influence as the Demon King expands. The individual's existence becomes clearer."
As if worshiping the Demon King who had newly descended upon this land.