Diabol used a skill he'd never used before.

Hell Whirlwind!

He spun his trident, and a ring formed around the tip. Then, a black whirlwind shot out of the ring, flying straight towards Kang Oh.

Kang Oh responded with Maurelion Warrior. A diamond mark appeared on his forehead, which radiated dim light.

[Your current HP, MP, and Stamina has been doubled.]

[Combat-related side stats have increased significantly.]

Kang Oh pointed Demon Sword Ubist straight forward with a two-handed grip.

Lightning Breath!

This was a Lightning Breath used while under the effects of Gluttony, Devil Trigger, Joy of Battle, and Maurelion Warrior. It completely overpowered Diabol's Hell Whirlwind, even though he had assumed his final form.

Crackle!

The blinding lightning blast ripped through the whirlwind. Diabol quickly blocked the Lightning Breath with his spear shaft.

Quiver.

The electricity traveled along his spear and spread throughout his body.

Grr!

Diabol gritted his teeth. It was quite the electrifying experience.

Kang Oh seized the opportunity.

"Huahp!" Kang Oh leapt into the air and tried to split Diabol's head in half.

Jumping more than 10 meters in the air wasn't tough for him. After all, he was piloting a game character in a game world.

However, Diabol quickly regained his composure and swung his trident upwards, nullifying Kang Oh's attack. Plus, the right prong scratched Kang Oh's side.

"Tch." Kang Oh rotated in midair, softly landed on the ground, and clicked his tongue. That had been a good opportunity, so not capitalizing off of it was disappointing.

Thud.

Diabol stomped on the ground and then swung his trident diagonally.

Whoosh!

The wind pressure alone would make any normal person go flying. That's just how powerful it was.

Lion Claw!

It was larger and had a wider radius than before. Perhaps it could be attributed to Diabol's increased size.

Kang Oh knew that he couldn't afford to let it hit, so he disappeared into the shadows.

Boom!

The attack scarred the ground, as if a real lion had clawed at the ground. Lion Claw had also swept through the trees, either twisting them around or breaking them apart.

Swish.

Kang Oh reappeared behind Diabol. However, Diabol had been expecting him. After all, he'd already fallen for this trick once.

"I got you!" Diabol attacked Kang Oh with a triumphant expression.

Anaconda Thrust!

His trident shook like a snake moving from side-to-side, while the prongs resembled a snake's head aiming for its prey.

'Damn it.'

Failing his surprise attack put him at risk. Kang Oh gritted his teeth and swung his sword.

Tempest Tiger!

His jet-black blade radiated golden light, releasing a giant, resplendent tiger-shaped aura.

However…

His trident moved like a snake, and pierced through the golden tiger. But that wasn't the end of it. Diabol flew low to the ground and attacked Kang Oh once more.

'I can't dodge this!' Kang Oh placed Ubist at the centerline of his body.

Bam!

His demon sword couldn't shield his entire body. Ultimately, the trident's left prong pierced his shoulder.

Huge shards of light burst out. Based on the size, he could tell that he'd taken a ton of damage, even without taking a look at the system message.

"Haahk!" Kang Oh screamed and swung his blade upwards.

The force from below slightly pushed the trident upwards. Kang Oh used that opportunity to roll onto the floor and get out of Diabol's range.

"Hmph. Did you really think I'd let you go that easily!?" Diabol chased after him and thrust his spear downwards.

Kang Oh quickly got back into position and rushed forward, rather than moving to the side or backing off. Diabol hadn't expected this, so he reacted too late; Kang Oh took full advantage of this opportunity.

Swish!

His demon sword passed through Diabol's side.

"Ugh." Diabol grabbed his side.

With all these buffs applied to him, every one of Kang Oh's attacks were powerful. That last attack took a ton of Diabol's HP.

"How annoying." Diabol stared at Kang Oh and roared.

Kang Oh flipped him off. He then used the same finger to provoke him into attacking, as if to say, 'Don't be scared. C'mon!'.

"You arrogant little...!"

Bull Charge!

Diabol fiercely charged at him.

* * *

The battle was nearing its end.

Eder, Sephiro, Harp, and Larp were injured all over. Kang Oh and Diabol were even worse; their battle had only intensified.

Kang Oh was assuming his Jet-Black Demon form, so it didn't outwardly show, but his HP was almost depleted. The same went for Diabol. He was acting tough, but he didn't have much HP left either.

The bigger problem at hand was that he could die.

'If I make a mistake, then it's the end of the road for me. I can't afford to make a mistake!' Diabol steeled himself.

Kang Oh tightly gripped his sword. 'I'm going to win. Do you know how many trials I've overcome!? Do you really think I won't be able to overcome this one too!?'

He stared at Diabol while keeping his guard up. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

At some point, the gryphons attacked first.

Gyaa!

Gya!

They stretched out their wings and flew towards Sephiro and Eder.

Kang Oh didn't have the time to check on his companions. His attention was completely focused on Diabol.

Bam.

Kang Oh kicked off the floor and threw two Fire Bombs at Diabol.

Roar!

If two Fire Bombs exploded simultaneously, then the resulting fire would be much larger than usual.

"Kuhaaahk!" The flames burnt him, causing him to scream and writhe in pain.

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed. 'Something feels off.' However, Kang Oh decided to spring Diabol's trap.

"Huahp!" Kang Oh quickly approached Diabol.

Then…!

"I got you!"

Whoosh!

A beam of light extinguished the flames and came flying at Kang Oh.

Flash!

'As expected.'

Just as he'd anticipated, Diabol had acted as though the flames had hurt him in order to lure him in. If Kang Oh had actually gone through with the attack, then he wouldn't have been able to dodge the ray of light.

However, Kang Oh had only acted like he was attacking while preparing to dodge whatever came his way. Thus, he was just barely able to dodge Diabol's attack.

Boom!

He could hear a giant 'boom' from behind him; dirt rose into the air and debris went everywhere.

Kang Oh got in close and calmly searched for a weak point.

"Get lost!" Diabol thrust his trident. A large, powerful motion was unnecessary. A larger movement ran the risk of exposing himself even more.

However...!

Something happened that neither Kang Oh nor Diabol had expected. Diabol's feet suddenly sunk into the ground.

"Heok."

He lost his balance. Diabol was shocked. Kang Oh was right in front of him, intent on ending his life. He couldn't afford to show weakness, but...!

'This is my chance!'

Did the ground sink because it couldn't withstand Diabol's weight? Whatever the case, this was his best chance at finishing him off. Kang Oh wouldn't waste the opportunity.

Transcendent Blade!

Everlasting Darkness!

He used his strongest combo! The massive pillar of darkness, strengthened beyond the norm, stretched forward and cleaved the world in two.

At the same time…!

"No..."

Split.

Diabol's expression seemed to say, 'This is a nightmare.' as he was split in half.

[You have defeated the Arrogant One, Mayanes Diabol.]

[You have cast judgment on an unforgivable criminal, who not only insulted the gods but also attempted to supplant them.]

[Several gods have learned your name.]

[Fame has increased significantly. You will become more well-known to people of faith in particular.]

[Several churches will welcome you. You can accrue contribution points more easily now, and also accept quests from the churches.]

[You have completed the Goddess's Quest 1: Kill Mayanes Diabol. Please report this to the Church of Death.]

Finally!

"I beat him!" Kang Oh raised his hands into the air.

Once Diabol was killed, his wings, Harp and Larp, disappeared.

Sephiro and Eder approached him.

"Good job."

"Hoo, you actually got him."

Spew, spew!

Waryong came out, climbed onto Sephiro's head, and began spewing fire.

"Hehe." Kang Oh laughed and examined the loot.

There were two in total. One of them was Diabol's trident!

'Is it SS-rank? It has to be least S-rank.'

The other was quite peculiar.

'A star?'

It was as though someone had plucked a star from the night sky and dropped it here.

'No, this is the God of Creation's source.' Kang Oh recalled the Goddess of Death's explicit instructions to bring back Maya's source. He then extended his hand.

But then…

Space itself split open, and a figure walked out of the rift.

She was beautiful. Her skin was milky white, and she had red hair and jade green eyes.

Her arms and legs were wrapped in rose vines, and beautiful white wings protruded from her back!

"You did well." Mayanes Krishan smiled like an angel.

"Huh?"

Everything happened so quickly that Eder and Sephiro had no idea what to do. What was going on?

"So... Let me reward you." Krishan stretched out her hand.

"Attack!"

Kang Oh, sensing danger, swung his demon sword. However, Krishan's energy blast had come first, completely devouring Kang Oh's party.

* * *

Whoosh.

The wind blew, passing through Kang Oh and Sephiro's corpses. The Lich's body, which was already a corpse, had been ground into dust.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo." Krishan smirked. She elegantly approached the spot where Diabol had died, and then picked up the God of Creation's source.

'Everything's going as planned.'

Krishan had left several of her creations, surveillance plants, all across the ashen wasteland. No one had known about these surveillance plants but her.

Once they saw Kang Oh's party, they sent the footage straight to her. And when she saw Kang Oh kill the unkillable Madon, it sent shivers down her spine!

She watched Kang Oh's party via the surveillance plants that were spread throughout Diabol's forest.

'This is my chance!' Krishan thought.

If she used Kang Oh's party properly, then she'd be able to get rid of Diabol.

What would happen if she were to kill them afterwards, and then take the God of Creation's source for herself?

'With two sources in my possession, I should be able to escape Deborah's prison!'

After organizing her thoughts, she immediately put her plan into action.

Using Malak's death as a pretext, she kept Diabol at her home for more than a week, making it easy for Kang Oh's party to kill the prison beasts and free the prisoners.

As she'd anticipated, Kang Oh's party had rescued most of the prisoners, and had fought against a severely weakened Diabol.

She had also used her creations, the monster worms, to dig underneath Diabol's feet, allowing Kang Oh to land the finishing blow.

Ultimately, Kang Oh managed to kill Diabol. Just like she wanted.

She appeared right after, personally killed Kang Oh's party, and had taken possession of a second source.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo." Krishan couldn't stop her laughter. She took Diabol's trident and then extended her hand towards Demon Sword Ubist.

She'd watched firsthand, so she knew that this jet-black blade was the key to bypassing their immortality!

'If I have this sword, then... I can kill the other Mayanes and take all of the God of Creation's sources for myself...' Her eyes gleamed with ambition.

However...!

Something happened that wasn't part of her plan. The red gem on Kang Oh's ring radiated intense light, and red phoenix wings stretched out from his back!

Resurrection!

The game wasn't over just yet.