Party of the Supremes (5)
A brief exchange of glances passed between them just before Bahala launched his attack.
A fact everyone present knew all too well.
'If even a single summon over level 500 appears, the seal fails.'
And the summons would likely emerge only when Gremory sensed real danger.
Besides, the Hell Path was undoubtedly a threat to her.
Watching them trapped in that isolated space, Hyun-soo prepared Absolute Domination.
The moment the Hell Path dispersed, a Calamity Aura enveloped the three-headed Cerberus.
'The summon's level is higher than expected.'
Cold sweat beaded on his skin.
Without Absolute Domination, they would have faced both the demon and Cerberus—and been wiped out.
But now that immense power worked for them.
Cerberus's biting power rises exponentially.
Cerberus's biting power rises 6 times its normal level!
Black demonic energy seeped from Cerberus's maw as its innate trait activated.
Humans mustered a mere 50kg of bite force, while even an ordinary wolf managed four times that at 184kg.
Cerberus's razor-sharp fangs could scar dragon hide.
Now exerting 10 tons of force, it clamped down on Gremory in its jaws.
Crunch—!
The transcendent demon's body warped and crumpled.
Gremory had taken three hits from Bahala for just 4% HP loss.
Weakened by the Asura's Hell Path, she'd suffered 10% more from a blink and sixteen stabs.
With 12% HP left, she'd regenerated 2%.
But now.
-10% HP
Gremory's HP drops below 4%.
"How does it feel to be mauled by your own pet mongrel?"
Her mind went blank.
The weakest of her forces, the one with the least martial prowess.
Yet, just as it had once deleted 80% of her HP with Babylon in an upset...
Now a single successful strike unleashed Sword God's Heir and Asura-level damage.
And Hyun-soo harbored rage and hatred toward her.
She'd tried to annihilate Atlas for sport and aimed to enslave him.
Crack—!
Cerberus's upper and lower jaws parted again, still gripping Gremory in its mouth.
The moment it prepared to chomp once more.
"Dismiss summon."
The party had achieved its initial goal, glimpsing the possibility of sealing her.
But that possibility crumbled in just one second.
Gremory, clinging to less than 4% HP.
Demons were said to be beautiful, handsome even.
That was merely the impression of those who saw only the shell.
Strip away the husk, reveal the true demon—and it was grotesque, alien.
Demonization progresses.
Unable to approach.
BOOM—!
The four were blasted back simultaneously.
"Ngh…!"
"Urgh…!"
Her shell melted away, unveiling Gremory's true visage within.
She still walked upright.
Her alluring female torso remained.
But her lower body shifted to black camel legs, and atop her elongated neck loomed a massive camel's head.
Kruto's Power
Restores all HP to 50% in an instant.
No more regeneration, and a longer seal duration.
For demons, extended sealing was a massive blow—others would reshuffle the hierarchy in their absence.
Yet she risked it because her shell limited legion commander powers.
She'd used two in just over a minute, nearly sealing her fate.
But demonization partially reset that cooldown.
Her wounded flesh rapidly healed.
No regeneration, but 50% HP banished all unease.
"Haaaah…."
The demon's rasping breath, refreshingly post-shower-like—yet utterly chilling.
Demon Gremory's level updates.
Seal Reward Enhanced
A 30-level jump—insane, though relative strength mattered.
Against peers, +30 was dangerous.
Against the weak, it was an insurmountable wall.
Of course.
Their bodies instinctively recoiled at the transformed her.
She felt far more perilous now.
As the four moved to reposition.
Kasand's Power
Now wielding legion powers unrestricted, she unleashed it.
Kasand, a black mage legion commander rivaling grand archmages.
Hellfire erupted beneath their feet—unmistakably deadly.
Sword God's Shield
Asura's Blood Armor
Bahala and Kabel swiftly unleashed powers exponentially boosting their defenses.
BOOM—!
The explosion engulfed them.
-45%+ HP
Hyun-soo reeled at the absurd attack power. He saw Kabel and Bahala's HP dip below 20%.
Movement for 10 seconds inflicts greater damage.
Blown back, Hyun-soo watched the persistent damage tick.
A flicker of fear gripped him.
Failure here meant total collapse.
But moving would only feed the hellfire devouring him.
'Wait for it to burn out on its own.'
Gremory wouldn't give them that time.
Bahala and Kabel halted too.
Movement risked forced logout.
In this dire bind.
Whoosh—!
One man ignored the flaring hellfire.
"Didn't I say I'd take the front?"
Stab—!
He plunged straight for Gremory's heart.
Lukio.
Gremory's eyes widened.
Hellfire inflicted massive damage—and inhuman agony, double or triple ordinary flames.
Fire was humanity's greatest torment.
Yet Lukio had awaited this day.
Meeting Hyun-soo, receiving his sword.
Each loosening of brainwashing laid the foundation.
With every release, he'd honed a single swing—repeating, refining, powering it.
Over a century.
Endlessly practiced.
Countless times—over 4 million.
One motion etched 4 million-fold.
Gremory's eyes bulged.
She sensed it instinctively.
Roar—!
"Gremoryyy!"
The little demon, burning hair and brows, fueled by fury and pride.
This swing posed greater danger than imagined.
In that instant, she grew cunning.
Cade's Power
Transcends space via legion authority.
But she was wrong.
Rumble—!
Little demon Lukio.
The unyielding knight's Supreme Blade surged with demonic energy.
Even in death, he'd cleave his foe—that resolve ignited.
"Pull."
The blade's power yanked her back.
"…Kyaaack!?"
Disbelief tore from the true demonized form.
Finally, the 4-million-fold condensed strike swung from behind.
"Demon Cleaver."
Brief silence shattered.
Slash—!
A crisp cut rent her flesh diagonally.
The rear wall crumbled; at last, demon Gremory knelt.
Thud.
The mere little demon forcing a true demon to kneel.
-20% HP
Gremory's HP drops below 30%.
20% HP deleted, Gremory reeled in shock.
The blade of one more spectral than Asura, honed beyond Sword God—an era-defining force.
"St-stop…!"
For the first time, instinctual terror escaped the demon's lips.
Not from the damage.
Flash—!
The little demon's eyes, vowing her death—pure horror.
As that blade arced for her neck.
Thud.
Gremory sighed in relief.
Lukio's HP drops below 30%.
Charred black, Lukio succumbed to status ailment and collapsed.
True demonized, Gremory regained composure watching him fall without striking.
Just now, Lukio had created a variable.
No one could move in that hellfire.
Discarding arrogance, she invoked observational power.
Berisa's Power
Berisa, 14th legion commander, bearer of 'Berisa's Eye'—perceiving the present fully.
Berisa's Eye dwelled in Gremory's gaze, scanning, piercing everywhere.
That pierce calculated: if they landed every possible attack now, could they kill her?
Seeing it through Berisa's Eye, Gremory exulted.
"I have seen it."
She seized Lukio's head in both hands as he knelt.
Crunch—!
"Even if you land every attack, you cannot kill me."
Berisa, the Measurement Commander.
Her eye mirrored the system—precise analysis.
Even perfect success left them 4%, 5%, 10% short of sealing her.
All fear forgotten, Gremory squeezed.
Crack—!
"Struggle all you want. Nothing changes."
As her grip tightened, blood streamed from Lukio's eyes and nose.
His head on the verge of bursting like a tomato.
Humm—!
Lukio had bought time; Asura's dagger flew, embedding in her chest.
Thud.
No great impact, but dizziness clouded her mind.
◈ Controls foe 3 seconds (min) to 3 minutes (max), varying by target.
Asura's brainwashing tool.
Laughter burst from Gremory.
"Pathetic!"
This control on her lasted a mere 3 seconds.
3 seconds.
Even if they all struck fatally in that blink, she wouldn't die.
What could they do in 3 seconds?
Then, fully ensnared in 3 seconds of mental domination, Gremory plunged into brief darkness.
Like a human under anesthesia.
When the brainwashing lifted after 3 seconds.
She faced an unexpected scene, flustered by the man before her—Hyun-soo.
He glared at Gremory and spoke.
"Never define 'absolute.' Possibility is something you create."
She panicked.
Post-brainwashing, she'd acted strangely.
'My hand…?'
She was tightly gripping the man's hand.
And the faint voice from the brainwashing haze resurfaced.
The man holding her hand had said:
"Grant me your blessing."
In that instant, Gremory's eyes widened.
She was transcendent—no mortal had ever shaken her hand.
Hyun-soo's body fluttered, coat and hair whipping in the massive aura from clasping her hand.
The man exploiting even a transcendent like her.
Through her, he shattered limits, growing insanely stronger.