Most members of the Demon Clan were like this, but one of the special advantages of the Demonic Beast Legion was their absurd regeneration.
Dealing with those armed with a healing ability stronger than a Troll, the very symbol of regeneration, was quite a difficult task.
Furthermore, what about the commander of that legion, Behemoth?
He was a being with abilities nearly reaching Immortality, capable of regenerating even if his head was cut off.
That was why he could run wild, relying solely on his physical abilities without any protective equipment.
Of such a guy—
-Slash!
His waist was split open.
“Thump, thump!”
His upper and lower body were divided into two, rolling across the ground.
“It’s useless!”
He immediately manifested his unique regeneration.
The moment his squirming upper and lower halves tried to merge into one—
“Wait, what?!”
A cry of shock erupted from his mouth.
“H-how?”
His upper and lower halves remained separated.
His near-immortal regeneration was not working properly.
“What do you think ‘Will’ is?”
Anus.
That was a sword that gave form to one’s Will.
The blade, which materialized the Will to cut, left wounds not only on the physical body but also on the soul.
No matter how great Behemoth’s regeneration was, once he was struck by the sword of Will and his soul was severed, he could not recover.
“The wounds on your soul will not heal.”
The amazing regeneration he boasted was useless before me.
“That, that’s impossible!”
However, as if unable to accept it, he continued to attempt to regenerate.
“How can a mere human use the power of Will? That is…”
“Then rest easy. I am no mere human.”
A human, but a being that was not human.
That would be the most appropriate phrase to describe me.
If he was underestimating me by mistaking me for a normal human, he could find comfort in that fact.
“Well then.”
With those final words.
-Shing!
The trajectory drawn by Anus was etched in a straight line starting from the top of his head down to his crotch.
There was no scream.
However—
“Splat!”
His body, split vertically, became four pieces and rolled across the ground.
Unlike before, internal organs and red blood decorated the surroundings.
The death of the Demonic Beast Legion Commander, one of the six pillars supporting the Demon King’s Legion.
But I felt no sentiment.
The moment Anus was in my hand, their deaths were as good as foretold.
Moreover, to face the Demonic Beast Legion Commander, who had the worst compatibility against me.
‘I saved my stamina.’
I successfully dealt with one of the obstacles without consuming much physical or mental strength.
Since I had to face five more Legion Commanders in the future, it could be said to be a very pleasant start.
And that was sure to have a positive impact on the battle that was about to begin.
“You can… come out now, can’t you?”
“Did you know?”
It was a space where clearly nothing existed.
“Rip!”
That space tore open, and someone revealed themselves.
The identity of the one who had been hiding by overlapping spaces was—
“Magic Dragon Legion Commander.”
“Clank!”
A figure wearing black plate armor shaped like a dragon.
Between the black helmet where two horns sprouted, red and blue eyes flashed.
“Are we old acquaintances? I have no memory of you.”
I didn’t bother answering those words and scanned him once.
Numerous pieces of information immediately surfaced in my mind.
The strongest Legion Commander.
The immortal commander who had never been replaced.
The Demon King’s most loyal subordinate.
The Magic Dragon Legion Commander Jin, to whom all those modifiers pointed.
He possessed the greatest Martial Power among the six Legion Commanders and was the Demon King’s most loyal subordinate.
A loyalist who had never left the Demon King’s side since the beginning of the cycle of light and darkness.
While the other Legion Commanders under his had changed dozens or hundreds of times, Jin, and only he, always kept his position.
I was one of the few people who knew that secret.
Of course, now was not the time to be reflecting on the secret of his immortality.
“You were waiting for him to die.”
“….”
Silence.
That was an expression of affirmation.
‘As expected.’
Jin was a person with the highest pride among the Legion Commanders.
That was why he would have wanted a one-on-one situation like this.
Of course, if I had been weak, I would have met my death at the hands of Behemoth.
“That fellow was pointlessly arrogant.” He glanced once at Behemoth’s cold corpse and said, “He was the least suited for the position of Legion Commander.”
This was also exactly as I remembered.
Jin hated Behemoth.
No, it wasn’t just a simple emotion of dislike; it was closer to loathing.
“Trash whose only advantage was his natural body. Thanks to you, the position he didn’t deserve has become vacant.”
He loathed Behemoth for acting out based solely on his innate physical body.
Was it because Jin was a thorough hard worker?
No.
Jin was the individual with the most outstanding talent among the Legion Commanders.
From physical strength and magic to the absolute spear techniques he created himself.
In fact, he boasted a talent that allowed him to become the strongest even without much effort.
Despite that, he never neglected his training.
He did his best to be of help to the Demon King in any way and to reach even the toes of that great realm.
He was a being who had been part of the eternally repeated cycle of light and darkness.
Genius, effort, and time.
His skill, which combined all of these, was not just the best among the Legion Commanders but was at a level where he could be discussed as the best on the continent alongside the Demon King.
“I watched your skills with great impression. A sword crafted from Will. It must not have been easy to manifest that, yet you have managed to reach that realm.”
Usually, insults about being a lowly human would have come out first.
But Jin did not let his guard down, no matter who the opponent was.
He did not exclude the possibility that anyone, whoever they were, could reach a high stage.
That was why he was terrifying.
Unlike the Behemoth who died a moment ago, he was not careless.
Just as a tiger gives its all when hunting a rabbit, he exerted his full power regardless of who his opponent was.
He exerted the heavy karma he had accumulated over an eternity.
“If you hadn’t offended Her Majesty, I would have offered you a position as a Legion Commander, but unfortunately, that is no longer possible.”
The Demon King had given the command.
To erase me and everything related to me.
His command was solemn.
Especially since he was the Demon King’s most loyal subordinate, the Magic Dragon Legion Commander would surely try to eliminate me.
“Die here.”
-Slide.
What he pulled out from behind his back was a spear boasting a length of 3 meters, emitting streaks of dark red energy.
‘Gae Bior.’
One of the three demonic spears that represented him.
The fact that he pulled it out despite having many other spears meant he intended to give his all in this battle.
And in the next moment—
-Flash!
He moved.
No, he had already moved.
The spear, which drew a straight trajectory, split the space at some point to pierce between my eyebrows.
It was truly a peak movement.
His thrust was the crystallization of Will and countless layers of accumulated karma, just like the one I had seen from the old man in the past.
A thrust.
In that one act, he might have reached a higher realm than anyone else in this world.
However—
“Clang!”
I was the same.
A slash.
If he had reached the realm of a perfect thrust, I had reached the realm of a perfect slash.
The thrust and slash that had reached their extremes clashed repeatedly.
“Pang, pang!”
However, shockwaves like the ones with Behemoth did not occur.
It was because these attacks were forged from Will.
Therefore—
“Behemoth may have lost His Majesty’s precious demonic weapon, but that won’t happen with me.”
Mistilteinn, one of the powerful demonic weapons but even that spear was split by my Anus.
However, his Gae Bior was different.
-Whirrrr!
A black energy, looking as if it were coated on the surface of the spear, surrounded it.
That was his Will.
He was also one of the absolute beings who had reached the realm of materializing Will.
But—
‘Spears are weak at close range.’
The life of a weapon called a spear is the adjustment of the gap.
By using its long length, one can keep the opponent from approaching while continuing their own attacks.
But if an approach is allowed?
The length of the spear becomes a poison.
Therefore—
“Whiz!”
Without caring about his attack grazing my cheek, I took a dangerous step forward.
The moment the flow of the battle, which had been dominated by his distance control, passed to me—
-Slash.
I cut.
Not once, but twice.
Not twice, but many times.
No, I drew an infinite trajectory.
Infinite Slashing.
I manifested the slash of the nameless old man.
The old man had only succeeded in a single slash.
However, I completed his slash multiple times, infinitely.
Will is the power of possibility.
The moment that infinite potential and imagination became reality—
“Clang, clang, clang!”
Sparks flew incessantly around him.
“….”
The hidden light in his eyes beneath the helmet shone even more sharply.
The superiority of power was clear.
Though he had lived for eternity, he was instead consumed by that eternity and could not reach the realm I had attained.
My Will crushed his Will.
The moment the superiority was decided, he had to face the approaching despair.
Usually, the match would have ended there.
However with his single word, “Come!”
-Swish, swish!
Something emerged through the space.
Three spears similar in shape to Gae Bior, which had been emitting dark red energy.
They were his favorite spears: Gae Bolg, Gae Assail, and Gae Dearg.
“Vroom!”
Flying through the air as if they had a will of their own they blocked the Infinite Slashing I had manifested.
“Clatter, clang!”
Although he had not reached the same realm as me, he blocked the attacks using a secret technique that allowed him to share his Will.
If the battle could have continued like this, I definitely would have been able to win.
However—
The slash of mine that had been encroaching upon the space until a moment ago had no choice but to come to a hollow end.
-Ring, rinnng
A headache, as if my brain were being eaten away.
The manifestation of Will does not consume physical fatigue or Aura.
However, it was a task that required an enormous amount of mental strength.
To maintain it for a long time—
‘A healthy spirit dwells in a healthy body.’
I needed the energy of my prime.
“…As a seeker of martial arts, I pay my respects to you.”
Jin, who survived the Infinite Slashing, sent a sudden compliment.
“It is a characteristic of humans to burn brightly for a short time. That Will is something difficult for us, who live for eternity, to possess.”
That insight was piercing through the realm I had reached.
“That is why it is a pity. You will not be able to win this battle, nor this war.”
The battle and the war.
It wasn’t very difficult to realize the meaning of those words.
“T-this is bad.”
The God of Falsehood transmitted his Will.
And through the words that followed, I was able to obtain a clue about the war Jin had mentioned.
“The Demon King… it’s an attack by the subordinate Legion Commanders.”
The Demonic Beast Legion Commander and the Magic Dragon Legion Commander.
They were bait.
The Demon King’s plan was to tie me down here and eliminate South Korea and everything associated with me.
“Have you noticed? But it’s too late.”
“Riiiip!”
With Jin’s gesture, thousands, no, tens of thousands of spears tore through the space and emerged.
“Your imperfect Will cannot overcome me, Magic Dragon Legion Commander Jin.”
Now was not the time to worry about the war.
It was time to worry about the battle with Jin, who had connected countless spears with his Will.