Book 1 Chapter 759

759.

Ka-gagak-

The ice shards shattered by Leo began to return to their original positions.

Soon, the demon regained its original form.

A moment later.

Saaah-

The demon, having regained its original form, nodded its head a few times.

Kkadeuk- Kkaddeudeuk

Frost fell to the floor.

It seemed unfazed despite its neck being severed and its face blown off.

"A disrespectful mortal."

It glared down at Leo, revealing its anger.

"That such a low-level attack would work on me…"

Kwack-!

Before the demon could even finish speaking, Leo severed its mouth again.

"Why do you babble so much?"

Leo spoke indifferently.

The ancient demon, its head blown off with only its chin remaining, recovered its face and revealed its rage.

"You-!"

Simultaneously with that cry, Leo and Lisinas lunged.

Kwang-!

Something invisible crushed the ground where Leo and Lisinas had been standing.

Lisinas, landing lightly on the ground, looked at Leo and said,

"You still haven't changed that personality, have you?"

Among the five Great Heroes, the beings most hated by the demons of Tartarus were none other than the Hero of the Beginning.

It wasn't because Leo had subjugated Erebus.

The deep hatred of the demons for the Hero of the Beginning had been deeply rooted since the Age of Calamity.

'Kyle hunted demons most cruelly among us.'

Leo never killed demons mercifully.

He tortured and killed them as cruelly as possible.

Because of this, Leo became the most hated yet most unwilling opponent for the demons.

"By the way, what's the principle of your recovery?"

Leo tilted his head, looking at the high-ranking demon.

The attack wasn't ineffective.

However, it received no damage.

Returning to its original form after its neck and face were severed wasn't recovery.

It simply reverted.

No power was used in that process.

'Is there a core? But that would be inefficient?'

Creating a core grants endless regeneration, but it also has the clear disadvantage of annihilation if the core is destroyed.

To compensate for that disadvantage, they choose to hide it outside their body.

But if the core's location is discovered, it's equally dangerous, and there's also the vulnerability that the core's location is easily detected when regeneration occurs.

Therefore, the high-ranking demons of Tartarus did not create cores.

Leo, who was searching for the core's location with his extrasensory perception, tilted his head.

'The location isn't being detected?'

It seemed there was something special.

"You're arrogant with the power of a wicked god! I will make you feel the fear of death! Knights of the Sanctum! Spokespersons of the Holy Mother Ameriol! In the name of I, Carmol! Inflict pain greater than death upon that arrogant mortal!"

At Carmol's cry, the knights moved.

Each of them was no different from a high-ranking demon with great power.

Gooooooh-!

An ominous aura of death emanated.

Seeing that, Leo clenched and unclenched his fists, about to step forward.

"I'll handle it."

"Let's not overdo it, shall we?"

"Overdo it?"

Lisinas tilted her head.

"With just this much?"

"This is an insult."

Certainly, Lisinas was currently in a heroic spirit state.

To use her power properly, she needed Leo's help.

Even so, she remained the King of Wisdom, Lisinas.

"So?"

Kwack-!

Golden aura erupted from Leo's sword.

Kwagagagagang-!

A golden slash flew in and tore the knights apart.

A slash like the claws of a beast.

It was Arion's sword strike.

But soon, the shattered demons returned to their original state.

"Did you figure out the principle of their regeneration?"

"Yes."

Lisinas nodded and looked at the ice pillars.

"There will be a legion commander-level demon leading these demons around here."

"Such a low-level reptile! To equate the noble Holy Mother with that monstrous creature! You want to die…!"

Kwack-!

Leo blew off Carmol's upper body with magic.

"Who are you calling a reptile?"

"Leo…"

"Only I can call him that, you know?"

Kwack-!

Lisinas stomped on Leo's foot.

"You despicable slave race…!"

Carmol regained its original form, but Leo and Lisinas paid it no mind.

"The leader-class demon of these guys must be the core."

"So, if we catch just one head, it's over. It's a simpler structure than I thought."

"The stronger the power, the simpler the method of operation."

Carmol frowned upon hearing their conversation.

'They figured that out in an instant?'

Long ago.

When Nyx was defeated and swallowed by Erebus.

Styx, who served Nyx, retreated without fighting Tartarus.

At that time, Erebus's forces, which had swallowed other evil gods, were something Nyx could never contend with.

Therefore, Nyx promised a later date and ordered the saints and holy mothers who followed her to hide throughout the continent.

After Nyx was swallowed by Erebus.

Styx's demons lost consciousness.

For those Styx demons to wake up again.

It was proof that their master had arrived!

It was unknown how much time had passed.

However, the holy mother Ameriol, realizing that humans were on the land where they had been sleeping, took action.

She intended to bestow eternal rest upon the people of this land and head to their goddess, Nyx.

In the process, she discovered a human possessing the power of the detestable heavenly gods.

Divine power.

Furthermore, a power so immense that it could reach Nyx's true self.

Styx's demons knew that their goddess was weakening.

If they offered that divine power to their goddess, she would immediately regain her prime.

Moreover, stealing power from a mere inferior human was not that difficult.

However, the dragon accompanying that human immediately saw through the weakness of the Knights of the Sanctum.

The warriors of Styx, led by the second holy mother, were all beings blessed by the holy mother.

They were bestowed with infinite vitality, but in return, their fates were also bound to the second holy mother.

In the distant past.

Even when the second holy mother and the Knights of the Sanctum spread the grace of death throughout this world, no one saw through that fact.

Even if they did, they did not survive and died.

Yet this dragon saw through it in less than a few minutes.

Although he felt a sense of unease, Carmol did not pay it any mind.

'They are strong, but they are merely a human and a dragon.'

Before Nyx disappeared, humans were nothing more than inferior slaves to Styx.

Most dragons, however, dared to reject the grace of the goddess Nyx and followed the incompetent heavenly gods, but that was all.

Regardless of whether they saw through the second holy mother's secret, they could not reach the holy mother.

It didn't matter even if they stood before the holy mother.

'They would only kneel before the holy mother's immense power.'

Carmol sneered.

'What can you pathetic beings do?'

"You go to the ice pillar, Kyle."

"It's disrespectful for a lowly human to stand before the Holy Mother. Where would you go…"

Kwack-!

Carmol's shadow shot up like a blade and severed Carmol's head.

That wasn't the end.

Kwagagagagang-!

The shadows of the Knights of the Sanctum surged up, enveloped Carmol's body, and dragged it to the ground.

The knights' movements, which had been encircling the two, were momentarily paralyzed.

"I'll go first."

As the encirclement disappeared, Leo rushed towards the ice pillar with incredible speed.

-Wow.

At that moment, Elsi, summoned into Lisinas's palm, let out a cry of admiration.

-It's like, Lisinas's spirit magic is similar to Leo's but different. She can use her power very efficiently.

It was Elsi who bound the Knights of the Sanctum.

Leo and Lisinas were currently bound by a pact.

As long as Leo permitted it, they could act as his proxy at any time.

Lisinas used that proxy authority to employ Elsi's power.

"The foundation of Leo's spirit magic is me."

-So Lisinas is Leo's teacher.

"Not quite a teacher. He just watched and followed well."

Lisinas smiled and looked at Elsi.

At her gaze, Elsi's eyes widened, and she felt her own face.

-Is something on my face?

"No. Just… I really wanted to make a pact with you when I first met you."

Of course, Elsi had no memory of it.

Elsi's existence was sustained in this world solely as a reward from the Hero Record.

In actual history, Elsi perished 5,000 years ago.

However, Elsi recalled what Lisinas had told her before.

-That's right. But at that time, I needed Leo more than Lisinas… Hikk?

"Yes. That's right."

Lisinas brought her face close to Elsi's head and inhaled.

-Li, Lisinas. You're too close.

"Do you know how much I wanted to handle you?"

Lisinas's eyes twinkled, a rare sight.

It was a pure desire of a spirit medium, rarely seen.

If Leo had seen it, he would have surely called it perverted, but Leo was not present at that moment.

As Lisinas said, 5,000 years ago.

Lisinas was instantly smitten with the shadow spirit Elsi.

She was instinctively drawn to the great dark spirit, who possessed powerful strength as a black dragon.

However, at that time, Lisinas could not embrace the injured Elsi.

Lisinas's ideal of painting a bright future and spreading hope was incompatible with Elsi, who was hurt and despaired by the world.

At that time, Elsi chose Kyle, who had a similar personality to herself.

Lisinas, knowing that forcing a pact would be futile, had to swallow her disappointment.

But now it was different.

She could finally wield the power of Elsi, who had the best compatibility with her as a spirit medium.

'If that spirit is the strongest spirit, it's an immense blessing for a spirit medium.'

It was clearly a blessing that only those who saved the world in their past lives could enjoy.

'Ah, has the world already been saved once?'

As she had such a frivolous thought.

Kwang-!

Freed from Elsi's restraint, the Knights of the Sanctum began to exude a fearsome killing intent.

"Do you think we'll fall for such a crude trick?"

Carmol exuded killing intent.

"Don't be so arrogant! Dragon! Just one slave race! You won't be able to inflict any harm on the Holy Mother!"

"Slave race… Indeed. I've seen ancient texts mentioning some humans were slaves to demons. It seems you were the ones who enslaved them."

Lisinas nodded as if she had learned something new.

Ancient texts, whose eras were unknown.

When Lisinas interpreted and read those texts, she felt a doubt.

Tartarus does not enslave humans.

They simply divide the ground races into two categories.

Whether to kill them immediately.

Or use them and then kill them.

Erebus's wish was to burn the world to ashes, leaving nothing behind.

When she saw records of them enslaving humans in the past, she found it strange.

However, it made sense if it were other evil gods.

Their ultimate goals differed from Erebus's.

'If the goal is to turn the world into an unchanging frozen realm of death… enslaving humans would make sense.'

A world of absolute, unchanging permanence.

They couldn't go extinct until that wish was fulfilled.

To Lisinas, it was incomprehensible, but she knew well that even gods, let alone evil gods, were troublesome beings to try and understand.

Therefore, Lisinas simply nodded calmly, stating she had learned something new.

"But you know, the era you lived in and the current era are very different. Especially the one who went now is someone experienced in hunting and killing demons."

Lisinas smiled faintly.

"Hmph! Forgetting is a terrible thing! You've forgotten our terror."

Carmol sneered.

"No matter how strong you are, it doesn't matter. It's common sense that you mortals cannot defeat us, the residents of Styx, who worship the goddess of death."

"Common sense…"

Lisinas smiled faintly.

Her eyes calmly gazed at Carmol.

Her eyes shone with insight.

It was the power of this insight that allowed her to instantly see through the principle of Carmol's infinite regeneration.

This insight was the foundation that made Lisinas the King of Wisdom.

Lisinas slowly looked at the Knights of the Sanctum.

"Do you know? Common sense exists to be broken. And in the first place, we are beings of the irrational."

If they were common sense beings.

They would not have saved the world in that situation.

Lisinas gently stroked Elsi's cheek, who was kneeling on her palm, with her other fingers.

Elsi straightened her back and her eyes widened.

-Huh?

As Elsi let out an involuntary gasp, darkness began to flow from her body.

That darkness flowed down Lisinas's body and mixed with Lisinas's shadow on the ground.

Then, it stretched out and touched the shadows of the Knights of the Sanctum.

"Do you think we'll fall for such a crude trick again?"

Carmol, thinking it was the same shadow restraint as before, sneered.

Seeing Carmol like that, Lisinas laughed.

"One thing I'll tell you is that we can defeat you without even dealing with that holy mother or whatever."

"Ignorance is a terrible thing. To give you such vain hope…"

Kwack-!

"…What?"

Carmol uttered a question, unable to finish its sentence.

'What is it?'

Did the opponent cut off its head again?

No.

Tung-!

Carmol's head fell to the ground, spinning.

Carmol looked at the one who had severed its neck.

It was none other than a Knight of the Sanctum.

The demons' bodies began to tremble.

Then…

Kwack-! Kwajik! Tukak!

The Knights of the Sanctum began to swing their weapons at each other.

The demons' limbs were severed, and a scene of brutal slaughter unfolded.

"Wh-what is this…"

Carmol's face was filled with shock.

"You! What exactly are you!"

"Hmm… How should I put it? King of Wisdom? Fool? These titles are hard to grasp, so they might not resonate well… Ah!"

Lisinas, after contemplating, smiled faintly.

"Slayer."

"What?"

"I am the hero who has killed the most demons in the world."