“Vile and inferior human, do you think that by calling my true name and weakening me by a fraction, you can defeat a Calamity Pillar?”
Mammon spread his arms wide.
The space behind him began to ripple with golden waves, countless treasures and weapons appearing and disappearing within them.
“Even with the help of that little priestess currently trapped and sharing the burden, before me, you are nothing more than a slightly stronger ant.”
Trapped?
Gray keenly caught the keyword, his heart tightening.
Mammon seemed to relish the fleeting worry on Gray’s face.
“Worried about that little girl? Don’t worry. I’ve prepared a grand gift for her. She should be having a lot of fun right now.”
“But… you’d better worry about yourself first. Vault of the Void, manifest. “
As his voice fell, from the golden ripples behind him, weapons emitting terrifying fluctuations slowly emerged.
They were replicas of mythical weapons simulated by Mammon’s Authority.
But even as fakes, infused with Calamity Pillar-level mana, they possessed terrifying power that could not be ignored.
“Come, human. Let me see what kind of man could make that Noctiluca care so much about you!”
A giant sword burning with flames took shape first—a replica of the Flame Demon’s legendary sword, Laevateinn.
Mammon thrust the sword forward.
The searing heat that could incinerate everything rushed straight toward Gray’s face.
“No matter who you are…”
Facing the blow that could burn an entire village, Gray stepped forward instead of retreating.
He gripped the hilt of his longsword with both hands, every muscle taut, his iron-gray pupils blazing with fury.
“If you dare touch a single hair on my captain’s head, I’ll peel off that golden mask of yours and flush it down the sewer along with your face!”
Clang!
In that moment, the common-steel longsword let out a ringing cry that rivaled any divine weapon.
The flame giant sword that could melt steel was deflected by Gray’s draw cut!
Mammon’s smile froze.
Even though his true name had been exposed and the weapon was merely a projection, only able to exert about half of its original power—that was still Laevateinn!
How could a human’s mundane weapon even touch it?
Could it be—!?
He turned his head toward the crack Noctiluca had opened, sensing that most of his power was being siphoned away by the Square Water Mirror inside.
Damn it.
What was it projecting inside?
Something that could absorb a Calamity Pillar’s power like this?
“Heh, is this all you’ve got? I thought the boss of the Third Labyrinth would be several times harder than the Thirteenth.”
The worry on Gray’s face dissipated somewhat, replaced by a provocative smile.
“Feels like you’re not as strong as Zhuoketiluka, huh?”
“Ha!?”
Mammon felt as if he had suffered a great humiliation.
To compare him—the right hand of the Demon King, the wisest and wealthiest existence among the Demon Race—with that mongrel of unknown origin?
“Arrogant insect! Turn to ashes!”
The enraged Greed Demon held nothing back.
The Laevateinn in his hand shimmered gold, transforming into all manner of divine weapons, unleashing a furious and deadly rain upon Gray.
***
Within the Eternal Vision.
Kaxu was staring at the crystal before her—once part of the Square Water Mirror, now dyed a dark gold.
‘Mammon finally can’t sit still anymore, huh?’
‘But Gray should be able to handle it. With me in here intercepting Mammon’s energy, the one out there is at most a crippled demon’s level.’
‘What is this damn crystal even supposed to do? Isn’t it going to project an enemy?’
Kaxu was growing impatient.
She just wanted to get out, finish off the Square Water Mirror and Mammon, then pretend to be weak, collapse into Gray’s arms, and enjoy being carried out.
‘Forget it. Whether you project something or not, a free level skip is perfect.’
Having made up her mind, Noctiluca raised Nocturne again.
The giant hammer whistled through the air as it smashed down toward the floating crystal.
Just as the hammerhead touched the fragile surface of the crystal, the expected sound of shattering arrived on schedule.
However, after breaking the crystal’s surface, Nocturne could go no further.
Something inside the crystal was blocking its descent!
“Someone’s inside!”
Under Noctiluca’s shocked gaze, the figure inside the crystal caught Nocturne with one hand, while the other casually swung a blade-like weapon.
There was no killing intent.
No mana fluctuation.
Like an ordinary passerby on the street.
But the moment the figure swung the sword, Kaxu’s instinct as a Calamity Pillar screamed like never before.
DANGER!
EVADE!
“What—!”
The girl’s vertical pupils shrank to pinpricks.
She didn’t even see what happened—just heard a crisp clink.
Then, from the hammer handle, an irresistible force surged.
Nocturne, the personal weapon of Noctiluca whose weight rivaled a small mountain, was actually knocked away!
The massive warhammer spun through the air before crashing heavily into the void in the distance.
“Wh-what?”
Noctiluca stiffly looked down.
Standing less than half a meter before her was a figure—not particularly tall.
It was a girl in tattered leather armor.
Her face was completely obscured by gray, her features invisible.
In her naturally hanging right hand, she held a dazzling golden longsword.
She stood in a relaxed, almost sloppy stance, with openings everywhere.
But Noctiluca felt every strand of mana in her body screaming in warning of the danger before her.
“You… who are you?”
Noctiluca’s voice trembled.
For the first time since becoming a Calamity Pillar, she felt this strange sensation.
Even when facing the Demon King, she only felt reverence.
But facing this seemingly ordinary human girl’s phantom, the emotions she experienced were overwhelmingly complex.
Her demon instincts told her the human before her was an existence she could never defeat—she had to flee.
But her heart and soul felt like they had met a long-lost friend, a subconscious feeling that she could completely trust this person.
The girl didn’t answer.
She slowly raised the dazzling, sun-bright longsword.
In that instant, the gravitational laws of the entire Eternal Vision seemed to be cut apart by the sword’s presence, as if it were forged from the flames of a blazing sun.
Though she couldn’t see the face clearly, Kaxu could feel the gray-covered eyes calmly watching her—like watching a lamb to be slaughtered, or like watching an old friend not seen in years.
“Wh-what the hell?!”
Inside her heavy armor, Noctiluca stepped back, her once-arrogant demeanor completely gone.
Cold sweat soaked her back.
Just who was this a copy of?
How could such a monster exist among humans?!
This strength… it was already the limit of humanity!
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