Party of the Supreme Ones (1)
“Babylon is a weapon that threatens demons.”
The definition given by the great demon Baal.
The one who stands above all demons.
Gremory back then couldn't understand why such a Baal would fear a mere blade.
Baal ordered Gremory to retrieve Babylon.
And 150 years ago, she managed to recover Babylon, which contained 100g of some god's ore.
Having retrieved Babylon, Gremory assessed it.
'Trash of the trash.'
She couldn't comprehend Baal's intentions.
Myeolak clearly dealt 40% damage to all evil.
But no matter how she looked at it, Babylon was a weapon that couldn't even be swung properly.
When she threw it into the hellfire and faced Baal again, the great demon saw what she had missed.
“Babylon—that sword is dangerous not because of Myeolak.”
Baal's expression was grave.
“Even thrown into the hellfire, Babylon did not perish.”
Hellfire was known to melt anything and never extinguished.
“The sword's creator lacked the skill, and the god who provided the ore knew it—they couldn't complete Babylon with their own abilities.”
“Then why is it called Babylon……”
“Because they wait.”
“……!?”
Gremory realized.
“Babylon is not a finished product—it's merely a blueprint. They left it in the world for someone who could forge the true Babylon using that blueprint.”
However, Gremory still didn't understand.
“Even if it takes 40%, 50%, or 60% of our life force, the fact that they can't stand against us remains unchanged.”
Baal looked at Gremory with hollow eyes.
“Humans are weak, but they grow faster than us.”
A hint that those humans might one day grow to threaten them.
“The biggest problem is who will recreate Babylon. Of course, as you say, it's just a worry.”
The great demon Baal's unfounded worry.
That was the end.
And so, Babylon was forgotten.
But recently, the entire demon realm was turned upside down.
A power that exterminates all evil is detected.
It was a threat so potent that all demons reacted to it.
And Gremory speculated from that immense power.
'Not 40%…… 50%? 60%?'
She couldn't help but feel fear back then.
Toward whoever had recreated the blueprint-like Babylon.
But that aura vanished in an instant.
As if hidden away.
Gremory knew.
'The one who forged a single Babylon will one day make a second, third, fourth.'
She finally understood Baal's true worry.
What the great demon truly feared wasn't Babylon.
It was the forger who could recreate it—and how far that forger could elevate Myeolak.
Gremory's senses went numb.
What Baal had feared were two things.
How much the recreator of the mere blueprint Babylon had boosted Myeolak's attack power.
And how much those fast-growing humans had advanced.
Demons were transcendent from birth and could grow no further.
Moreover, Gremory had viewed the man before her as a mere insect.
Her measure of that 'insect' was based on his martial weakness.
But a blacksmith—one who had recreated Babylon anew? That changed everything.
'A blacksmith, with such power?'
The fighting spirit, pride, defiance, and stubbornness emanating from him.
The aura felt through all that.
A mere human facing a demon without faltering, clad in a brown coat, gazing at her with a superior look.
Myeolak drawn back behind him, ready to burst from the forger's fingertips.
Exterminates all evil!
Screeech—!
Even without touching her, the moment it slashed, Gremory was overwhelmed by massive terror.
Born a demon, she had never felt such shock.
It felt sharper and keener than any cut, as if sliced yet unscathed.
Only as the green blood erupted like an explosion did she realize.
Gremory's HP drops below 20%!
Myeolak wasn't just boosted by a mere 10% or 20%.
Compared to the blueprint it once was, its effect had doubled.
She fell into multiple status ailments.
All her common sense—that only those walking the Sword God's Path were worth wary of—shattered, replaced by overwhelming dread.
The man before her reflected in her eyes.
Seeing him aim and prepare to attack, her demonic eyes widened in horror.
'Please, just run away.'
Watching her multiple status ailments trigger, Hyun-soo clung to hope.
But that hope wasn't about capturing Gremory from the start.
Gremory's HP pool was double that of the lesser demon Lukio to begin with.
Bahala and Hyun-soo together had barely whittled lesser demon Lukio's HP by 20% with great effort.
This was their one chance.
For her to feel fear, fall for Hyun-soo's feint, and flee.
And Hyun-soo was watching too.
Not to Grout the Blood Demon's level, but Gremory's HP was recovering at a rapid pace.
“Demon's Jar.”
Hyun-soo's face twisted.
Demon Gremory, lord of the so-called combat breeds, chose attack over flight in the face of fear.
Hyun-soo had been approaching her threateningly on purpose.
With her instinctive cry, a pitch-black jar flipped over from the sky.
Demon's Jar
Robus's legion begins to fall.
The small jar grew enormous, filling the sky.
Hyun-soo had no choice but to decide.
Hyun-soo looked at Bahala.
He had just been holding Gremory, his HP now below 10%.
And none of his skill cooldowns had reset.
Hyun-soo, at least, could use most of his skills.
⊳ [Bahala: What……!? You want me to run now?]
Bahala and Hyun-soo felt the limits of players.
Even more humiliating: this Gremory wasn't even her true self.
The current Gremory was in sacrificial descent state.
Having awakened through a medium, most of her powers were sealed.
Actually level 700s, but downgraded to early 600s now.
Lord of 22 Robus-level legion commanders and hundreds of thousands of troops, yet summoning them seemed impossible.
Even in this situation.
'We can't even seal her.'
Hyun-soo could sense it.
Bahala, idol of players, could gauge victory odds from the situation alone.
And Bahala had a similar but different notification giving percentages.
Even after Myeolak, it still showed 0% for him.
⊳ [Hyun-soo: It has to succeed.]
Hyun-soo wasn't a fool.
He was simply certain this was the right order.
If he fled and Bahala blocked, escape chances vanished.
But an awakened Bahala fleeing with Lukio? Possible.
Drip drip—
In that moment, Hyun-soo saw over a hundred demons and monsters falling from the jar.
One demon shot toward Hyun-soo's head.
Swoosh—
Hyun-soo cleaved it in two with an upward Twin Dragon Swords strike, light flowing from his body.
Saint's aura flows.
Whoosh—
“Kahaaaak!”
Smoke rose from the demon's cleaved part as if burning away.
Hyun-soo cracked his neck, loosening up.
He ignited facing the falling foes.
Flame
A small spark ignites.
All stats rise by 20%.
All skill levels rise by 2.
HP decreases while Flame is active.
The small spark engulfs the world.
Tiny flames ignited on Hyun-soo's body.
With that, Hyun-soo eyed the falling foes and activated.
Link
Twin Dragon Swords maximize the wearer's embedded power, doubling the chaining speed of subsequent forces.
[Robus's Soldier Lv.413]
[Robus's Monster Lv.398]
“Gather.”
The legion, even Gremory herself, was pulled in.
Disconcert flashed in Gremory's eyes.
One Stroke, Two Cuts
Cleaving power maximized to 641%, slashing horizontally across a 5m radius.
Screeech—!
The hundred-plus legion cleaved by One Stroke, Two Cuts scattered.
Gremory's HP within dropped by 2%.
The problem: her HP had just recovered to 22%.
Hyun-soo stepped on air.
Watching Bahala dash toward Lukio, he murmured.
“Ghost Step……”
A mere second's instant.
In that instant, he believed he could let Bahala escape.
“Mad Laughter.”
Before her lips parted.
Afflicted by Mad Laughter.
Skills neutralized.
Hyun-soo's face crumpled.
Just 30 seconds. Gremory's fear-filled eyes changed abruptly.
Gremory resists all status ailments.
What she feared was Myeolak shaving 80% HP—and that it came from Hyun-soo's hand.
The moment she sorted her thoughts amid that terror and fear, she became her true demonic self.
Ghost Step canceled mid-air, a brand seared onto Hyun-soo's body.
Gremory's Brand
Wherever you are, Gremory pursues, reading your tracks.
Boom—!
Just swinging her arm slammed Bahala into the wall.
“So you're the lord of that place called Atlas?”
Through the brand, she glimpsed Atlas.
Smirking, she waved her hand in the air.
Craaaack—
Space tore open.
“I can't summon my legions here. But I can summon those loyal to demons.”
Worshipper summoning begins.
“I'll return to the demon realm and visit that Atlas.”
Hyun-soo's body trembled.
“My 22 legions will join me, and you so-called outsiders will forge weapons for me for life.”
Hyun-soo's face paled.
All his achievements in an instant, crumbling.
Puuk—
Abdomen pierced, Hyun-soo fell to his knees.
Thud—
Powerful Control
Cannot move body.
She spread her wings.
“The rest, my worshipper will finish. My worshipper is quite strong—I was going to give him the 1st Legion Commander position.”
Flutter—!
Gremory ascended.
Slumped, Hyun-soo racked his brain for a way out.
But the gate Gremory opened.
A massive presence began descending from within.
5m tall humanoid form.
Six arms each gripping greatswords.
Blood-red skin. A three-headed being crossed the unknown gate.
Right then.
Tat, tat—
An unknown man dashed from behind the gate, pursuing it.
Above in the sky.
The manifested Hell King.
A being so powerful Gremory considered him for 1st Legion Commander.
That being—a mysterious man leaped high, bisecting it with a single dagger.
Kaboom—!
Vanished like light, arriving at one spot.
Puuuuk—!!!!
“……?”
Gremory, soaring skyward, plummeted with her forehead pierced by the dagger.
Boom—
Gremory couldn't comprehend the situation, nor could Hyun-soo.
His shaking eyes fixed on the man, who stood before Hyun-soo.
“……Get up.”
Hyun-soo rose following him, staring at his broadly felt back, as a sound spread worldwide.
World message resounds.
He, once Nameless's friend, now aimed his dagger at the demon.
“I'll take the vanguard.”
Nameless's friend had returned.
As the second legend.