The sword that was aiming at the area between his eyebrows suddenly bent like a sickle and cut at his collarbone. He was a bit flustered, but Kraugel calmly blocked it with his sheath. He had expected an anomalous attack from the time he saw the shape of the soft sword, so it was easy to respond.

The soft sword that was blocked by the sheath bounced back using its elasticity. Kraugel drew his sword. At the same time, he turned the sheath around, held it in the reverse direction, and pushed it.

“...Oh my?”

The eyes of the yangban, Yeum, widened. It was because her sword was attached to the human’s sheath. She was in a hurry to retrieve her sword when Kraugel’s sword cut her waist. It was an attack that dug deeply, but Kraugel’s expression wasn’t very good.

‘A basic attack is pointless.’

A basic attack didn’t deal much damage. He gauged Yeum’s defense and kicked up. Jajinmori—it was a kick that could be used even at a close range. It made the concept of space meaningless and exerted a chasing effect.

Yeum was pushed back several meters and was ready to chase after him immediately. Through the dust, she could see the back of the human that was running far away. Usually, a person would think they had missed the opponent. However, Yeum was a yangban. In front of her, a half-god, the concept of distance had little significance.

“Shunpo.”

Yeum’s body teleported dozens of meters ahead. She spread out the capturing technique and snatched at the human’s robes. Then a sharp blade swept over Yeum’s white hands like a storm. It was the manifestation of Formless Will.

‘He has awakened the ‘heart.’’

The vast majority of the yangbans didn’t understand the concept of Formless Will. For them, Formless Will was just an innate strength. Even Garam recognized Formless Will as a power of the yangbans. However, Yeum had an accurate understanding of the ‘heart’ and Formless Will. This was the result of studying martial arts beside Mir without being complacent about her strength.

Tong! Tong tong tong tong tong!

Yeum matched it. She responded to Kraugel’s Formless Will with her own Formless Will. The invisible blow collided with the invisible sword energy and a storm erupted. Meanwhile, the battle between Kraugel and Yeum continued. Yeum’s techniques encompassed fists, angled attacks, the palm, and the sword, and they were varied and complex. Her attacks that left behind afterimages were as flashy as the tail of a peacock and Kraugel was desperate to stop them. Yes, he somehow blocked them.

Yeum greatly admired it. The opponent was an ordinary human. He hadn’t even accumulated transcendence. However, his heart and his techniques were unusual. Among them, his swordsmanship was particularly remarkable.

‘The swordsmanship is similar to Mir’s... no, maybe it is a bit better.’

This was a human who used swordsmanship comparable to Mir, the strongest of the yangbans. If he accumulated transcendence and completed his body, wouldn’t he far transcend the category of a human?

“It’s great.”

Yeum was blocked by the sword curtain used by the human being and she was forced to step back. She was filled with pure curiosity and questioned the human who was regaining his breath, “You aren’t a transcendent. How are you distinguishing between my various attacks? It isn’t possible just because you have good eyes.”

“......”

Kraugel didn’t answer. He had no reason to explain that he was predicting and responding to attacks by reading the fine movements of her muscles, the direction of her eyes, and the habits that the other person was unaware of.

‘The situation is bad.’

Kraugel had only been in Kaya for two days and he already met with a yangban. It was too much to dismiss it as bad luck.

‘Is it because I had a conversation with the residents to gather information?’

The waterfall that was said to contain Muller’s secret technique—the only clue was that it was ‘a place where there is no sunlight,’ so Kraugel interacted with the residents to gather information. Then he stepped back and encountered the yangban in front of him. The possibility that it was a simple coincidence was very low.

‘I was too short-sighted.’

The yangbans lost the red phoenix and black tortoise to an outsider (Grid) and their colleagues were also killed. Even the arrogant ones would’ve been alarmed. It was clear they would thoroughly defend the blue dragon and the white tiger. It was enough to keep an eye on the people of the Kaya Kingdom and the Pa Kingdom.

‘I should give up on communicating with the NPCs here.’

He had to work thoroughly alone and in secret. The difficulty of the quest surged, but Kraugel didn’t hesitate. He had a lot of experience in uncovering and solving labyrinths alone. The biggest problem right now was how to get rid of the yangban in front of him. However, could he get rid of her? The level of the other person was too high.

Yeum. She had a smiling face and soft attitude, but there was no mercy in her hands. She knew how to objectively analyze the enemy. She was never arrogant and careless, unlike other yangbans. Her skills were unsurprisingly excellent.

‘I didn’t know that the skills of a yangban would be this high.’

In the past, Kraugel had warned Grid of the dangers of the yangbans.

At that time, he didn't know there was a gap between the yangbans. He took the three yangbans he saw in Pangea, including Garam, as the standard for the yangbans. That wasn’t the case anymore. In the past few years, he had been collecting information about the yangbans through many quests.

Only the seven yangbans who had passed Chiyou’s Test with high grades could take off their gats. They were the truly strong ones. Yet Yeum possessed higher than expected skills despite wearing a gat. Even a yangban wearing a gat was this strong...

Kraugel couldn’t help thinking of Grid who had killed several yangbans.

‘The gap has widened further.’

Kraugel’s heart jumped when he realized the difference in skill with Grid. His blood boiled as he recalled the goal of competing against Grid again. However, he suppressed it. It wasn’t time yet. He would end up learning Muller’s secret techniques if he was obsessed with winning against Grid.

‘Then I am bound to lose.’

He absolutely refused to lose while using someone else’s power. He didn’t want to disappoint Grid. He realized it for certain when he saw that Grid didn’t participate in last year’s National Competition. It was a fact that a rematch with Grid shouldn’t be set as a short-term goal. The current him didn’t meet Grid’s expectations.

‘...The game is fun. Exciting. Long.’

Kraugel tried to control his mind by repeating his positive thoughts. Then Yeum spoke to Kraugel, “You seem to have many thoughts. Don’t try to understand the situation. If you keep thinking about why I attacked you or why you can’t beat me, then you won’t understand until the very end.”

“I don’t care.”

It was Kraugel who felt insignificant when Yeum intervened as he was thinking about Grid. Yeum’s face went blank for a moment, but she soon laughed. “You are so terrified that you’ve lost your mind.”

Yeum infused energy into her soft sword. The anomaly of the soft sword wasn’t working so she determined it was better to suppress the opponent with a strong sword. “The people above are a bit sensitive these days. It is forbidden to have outsiders active here, so please die.”

‘There is no retreat.’

It was easy to understand why Yeum chose to fight here despite the narrowness. In the first place, Shunpo was a problem. It was hard to get free. Kraugel looked around again and concluded that retreat was impossible. Therefore, he took a posture.

‘I wonder if I can decrease her blood below half. I have to confirm it now that things are like this.’

“......?!”

“Space Sword.”

The Sword Saint’s swordsmanship split apart the mountain and the half-god paid homage to his blow. Each time their swords collided, birds flew from the turbulent forest and covered the sky with black.

***

[Hell Gao, the master of Hellfire has appeared.]

[Hell Gao’s roar has applied fear, confusion, and debilitating effects.]

[You have resisted.]

[Hell Gao’s fire has reduced fire resistance by 50%.]

[You have resisted.]

[Hell Gao, who has restored a lot of magic power, has used his strength. A river of hellfire is summoned in the area.]

[The health recovery effect is reduced by half due to the influence of the hellfire river and continuous burn damage is received.]

[You have resisted.]

[Hell Gao’s stats will rise significantly as the hellfire river flows.]

[Fire pillars have risen and attacked you.]

The moment Hell Gao appeared, a river of fire was also created in the dungeon.

“......!”

Pillars of fire rose from the fire stones and struck at Grid and Mercedes. The fire stones were scattered in so many different locations so it felt like the fire was coming from all directions. Mercedes shouted to Grid, who couldn’t easily find a path of retreat, “Come over here!”

“......?!”

Mercedes was standing still and shouting. Grid had no way of knowing what her intentions were, but he trusted her unconditionally. He rushed forward. Pillars of fire burned the dungeon. However, there were some areas that weren’t affected by the flames, one of which was the area where Grid and Mercedes were standing.

“Wow.”

Blue hair swept over the face of the admiring Grid. Mercedes moved like a flash and raised a shield into the air.

Meteor Strike—it was thought to be one of the strongest spells until Grid witnessed Braham’s Meteor, and it fell toward every point where the fire pillars didn’t reach. Mercedes’ shield now blocked one of them.

Grid clicked his tongue. ‘Is this the power of Keen Insight?’

She could grasp and target the boss’ attack patterns in an instant. It was truly a powerful force to watch out for. Mercedes spoke to Grid, who was looking at her like she was beautiful, “Don’t fall into the river.”

“Yes.”

His transcendent senses were also sending him warnings. He was able to resist the burn damage and recovery reduction effect caused by the ‘heat’ of the hellfire river. However, once his body directly touched the hellfire river, his flesh and bones would melt.

‘Once Hell Gao fully recovers, will he launch powerful flames like that river?’

A chill went down Grid’s spine as he was reminded that Hell Gao’s nickname was ‘master of hellfire.’

“Who are you?”

Beyond the flames, Hell Gao’s voice could be heard.

“What’s the matter?”

Hell Gao came in and out of here like it was his own house, and he became accustomed to conversations with human beings. He was more talkative than when he fought against Grid a few years ago. He even sensed something strange and immediately asked questions.

“You guys... are you legends of the past generation?”

Hell Gao had regained a considerable amount of power after suffering the humiliation of being beaten by humans several times. The physical body might only be borrowed from a demonkin, but his magic power had reached almost half of when he was in his prime.

Hell Gao was planning to hold a killing celebration this time. He was convinced that the humans who humiliated him for years would never be able to handle his present self. Then what was this? What was the identity of these two humans who possessed a strength that modern humans couldn’t show?

Hell Gao was perplexed only to suddenly meet Grid’s gaze. He kept his mouth shut for a moment before shouting. “You! You are the guy from that time!”

[Hell Gao, the master of Hellfire, recognizes you.]

[The title ‘Recognition of the 9th Great Demon’ has been acquired.]

[Recognition of the 9th Great Demon]

[A celebrity in hell.

The hell reputation system is activated.

The more you build your reputation, the less you will be penalized in hell.]

[You have defeated many great demons.]

[5,000 reputation points have been acquired through the influence of the magnificent achievements.]

[The penalties in hell are reduced by 10%.]

“It is nice to see you giving me a gift.”

This was a great profit. Activities in hell could be guaranteed, and hell was arguably Satisfy’s best hunting ground. Hell Gao stared blankly at Grid’s genuine joy and burst out laughing. “Kukuk! Kuhahahat! Right! I am glad! Really glad!! I have always dreamed of getting revenge on you! God Yatan finally listened to my wishes!!"

The experience of defeat in a fight against ‘a miner and a swordsman,’ not the Sword Saint, was the greatest shame of Hell Gao’s life. The reason Hell Gao diligently kept coming to the human world over the past few years was actually because he wanted to get revenge.

Today, the opportunity finally came. Hell Gao was very happy.

“You are worthy of being the human who defeated me. You have become stronger! It will be worth taking you down! Kuhahahat!”

“...You have become very chatty.”

Among all the great demons Grid had met, Hell Gao gave off the lightest feeling. However, the power he radiated was great. Grid didn’t release his tension even if it wasn’t for the warnings from his transcendent senses.

“Let’s go, Mercedes.”

“I will follow you.”

“...Can you take the lead?”

Grid thoroughly relied on Mercedes after witnessing the true value of Keen Insight. It was the first time that he recognized those with finite lives as ‘people to depend on’ rather than a ‘person to be protected.’

[Overgeared King Grid is writing the eighth epic.]

[The beginning of the narrative comes from the confrontation with the great evil roaring beyond the soaring flames.]

“Gladly,” Mercedes replied.

[His knight takes the lead in the furnace filled with the demonic desires.]

[One step. Enduring the flames of hell.]

[Two steps. The back she showed as she confronted the great evil with devotion shared the burdens he had been carrying so far.]