Right then, the gray man spoke.
“Damned monster bastard, how did you reach the 9th Circle…”
And the moment the gray man trailed off.
Whoosh!
A magic circle appeared beneath the red man’s feet beside him.
It was a deep blood-red magic circle.
Sizzle!
Soon, an immense amount of red liquid surged from the magic circle.
Judging by the metallic scent, the red liquid was clearly blood.
Blood magic, huh…
Blood magic wasn’t something easily seen.
Especially from an 8th-Circle mage.
Gaon had never seen blood magic from an 8th-Circle mage even once.
So, he decided to watch for a moment.
He was curious just how impressive 8th-Circle blood magic was.
Soon, the surged immense amount of blood transformed into a giant.
And the red man thrust his fist toward Gaon.
Then, the blood giant also thrust its fist at Gaon.
The giant’s fist carried tremendous power, enough to shake space.
Of course, Gaon felt no threat at all.
It was a level that posed no threat to Gaon whatsoever.
This can’t be the end, right…?
Gaon waved his hand with a skeptical expression.
Then, a translucent golden barrier appeared in front.
And the giant’s fist exploded upon it.
Boom!
An explosion resounded simultaneously with the impact.
But that was all.
Not even a tiny crack appeared on the barrier.
Gaon looked at the red man.
The red man had a highly flustered expression.
And Gaon was also flustered by the man’s reaction.
Is this really the end?
It probably wasn’t his full power attack.
However, judging by the atmosphere, even a full power attack didn’t seem like it would meet expectations.
Maybe because he reached the 8th Circle through shortcuts?
The reason many mages betrayed humanity and switched to the demon side was for realm advancement.
The red man was 8th Circle, but he likely hadn’t entered it through normal means.
High probability he used the explosive nature unique to demonic energy to enter.
In other words, it was natural that he fell short of Gaon’s expectations.
“By any chance…”
Gaon asked the red man.
“What percentage of your full power was that?”
He was curious.
What percentage of the red man’s full exertable power that earlier attack was.
If it was less than 50%?
He planned to watch a bit more.
But if it was more than that?
He planned to subdue him immediately.
The red man didn’t answer the question.
And the flustered expression vanished from his face, replaced by full displeasure.
But that was all.
He just glared at Gaon with a displeased face, taking no particular action.
Since the red man showed no reaction, Gaon turned his head to look at the gray man.
The gray man also took no action, just like the red man.
The only difference was that, unlike the red man, he was full of rage.
Of course, that was all.
The gray man also didn’t seem like he would open his mouth, just like the red man.
Guess I need to go straight into interrogation.
Gaon cast magic toward the two who were hesitating without doing anything.
Swish! Swish!
Magic circles appeared above, behind, and below the two’s heads.
Naturally, the two also cast magic for defense.
But it was meaningless resistance.
If the two had entered the 8th Circle without shortcuts, they might have resisted even briefly.
But the two weren’t proper 8th-Circle mages.
Crack! Shatter!
The magic and barriers used by the two couldn’t block Gaon’s magic at all and shattered in an instant.
And then, by Gaon’s magic, the two had their bodies smashed or pierced in various places, completely subdued.
Gaon waved his hand at the two.
Then, the subdued two floated up and flew forward.
Once the two arrived in front, Gaon injected Pacheonki to seal the demonic energy with a restriction.
“Heal.”
And then Gaon cast Heal.
Light enveloped the two, and all wounds healed.
“……?”
The two showed contrasting reactions to Gaon’s healing.
The gray man had a face full of despair, and the red man had a puzzled face.
And through the gray man’s reaction, Gaon could learn one fact.
He knows?
The gray man clearly knew what was about to happen.
And in great detail at that.
Why else would he despair?
A puzzled reaction like the red man’s was the typical one.
It was right then.
Hooh?
Gaon inwardly exclaimed in admiration.
The reason for admiration wasn’t the two.
It was because of Kring.
Surprisingly, the battle had ended.
The battle result was Kring’s overwhelming victory.
Well, yeah.
Looking at the gray man and red man, the being Kring went to capture also wouldn’t be a proper 8th Circle.
Plus, unlike here, there was no demonic energy over there.
It was natural for Kring to dominate.
Gaon ended his thoughts about Kring and placed his hands on the two’s shoulders.
And he unleashed Bone-Crushing Agony.
“……!”
“Arghhh!”
The gray man gritted his teeth and endured, while the red man immediately spat out a scream.
…What?!
Gaon slightly furrowed his brow.
It was because of the gray man.
Is he really in pain?
He had unleashed Bone-Crushing Agony.
He should be feeling pain.
But for some reason, the gray man’s pained expression seemed artificial.
Could it be…
With the sudden thought, Gaon’s eyes flashed.
He can’t feel pain?
If he was in a state where he couldn’t feel pain?
Moreover, the gray man seemed to know about Bone-Crushing Agony’s existence.
He had to consider the possibility of preparation.
Gaon injected a strand of Pacheonki into the gray man’s body again.
And he experimented.
“Urgh!!!”
Soon, the gray man, who had been gritting his teeth, let out a low scream.
Huh…
And Gaon inwardly exclaimed.
He really can’t feel it, huh?
Just now, Gaon had only pretended to inflict pain.
He hadn’t actually inflicted pain.
Where’s the problem?
Gaon examined the man’s body in detail.
And soon, he could find the cause.
Part of the nerves in the neck area were dead.
The reason he couldn’t feel pain was clearly because of this.
Good thing.
Gaon felt relieved.
If it was congenital analgesia, where he couldn’t feel pain innately, there’d be no way.
But if it was because nerves were dead, there was a way.
It’s a shame, though.
Gaon put his hand in his pocket.
And he took out a glass bottle.
It was the glass bottle containing the elixir.
Even if it doesn’t work, it’s just one drop anyway.
Gaon took out one drop of elixir from the glass bottle.
And he applied it to the part where the nerves were dead.
The elixir immediately seeped into the body through the skin, and the dead nerves revived.
“……!”
At the same time, the gray man’s face filled with bewilderment.
To the gray man’s bewilderment, Gaon smiled brightly like no other and unleashed Bone-Crushing Agony again.
“Arghhh!”
And unlike before, the gray man let out a scream.
It wasn’t artificial like before.
It was a scream full of pain, no less than the red man’s.
Gaon turned his head with a satisfied expression.
Just in time, Kring arrived.
And on Kring’s right, the blond man was floating.
“Good work.”
“No, it was easier than I thought. So I couldn’t check properly.”
“Oh, really?”
Gaon answered Kring’s words and thought.
I need to spar with him once to catch him…?
There were many things to do, and he thought there’d be opportunities to check strength sufficiently, so he hadn’t sparred directly.
But if the situation continued like this?
It seemed he needed to grasp the limits directly through sparring.
“But I got a rough sense of how much power I need to use to subdue!”
“Good job.”
Gaon stroked Kring’s head.
And he extended his other hand toward the blond man, injecting Pacheonki to seal the demonic energy.
“Heal.”
Whoosh!
Light enveloped the blond man’s body, and the wounds scattered around vanished in an instant.
Having finished the healing, Gaon woke the blond man.
“Uh?”
The blond man let out a groan and opened his eyes.
“Arghhh!”
“Urghhh!”
And he made a surprised face seeing the two screaming without rest.
The blond man turned his head again to look at Gaon.
In the blond man’s eyes looking at Gaon, fear that hadn’t been visible at all when he first woke up was fully settled.
And Gaon placed his hand on such blond man’s shoulder and unleashed Bone-Crushing Agony.
“Arghhhhh!”
Like the previous two, the blond man also grimaced and began screaming.
Having unleashed Bone-Crushing Agony on the three, Gaon scanned the palace situation once more through his senses.
They killed a lot…
There weren’t many survivors in the palace.
And even the surviving ones weren’t in good condition.
Of course, Gaon didn’t feel pity at all.
They had a high chance of dying by Gaon’s hand anyway, since these three weren’t the start.
“Kring.”
“Yes!”
“If you go north from here, there should be humans.”
“Yes! I can feel them!”
“Can you bring only the living humans?”
“Of course! I’ll bring them right away!”
Kring answered Gaon’s words and immediately dashed north.
And Gaon looked at the three still screaming and thought.
How long will these guys hold out?
Even if through shortcuts, 8th Circle was 8th Circle.
Their mental strength would be incomparably superior to a 7th-Circle mage.
It’d be nice if they give up quickly…
Gaon hoped the three would give up quickly and looked at the demonic energy filling the surroundings.
How do I handle this now…
Holy Empire of Seionia Intelligence Agency.
The First Saintess Adela let out a groan while looking at the Eye of God.
Currently, the place Adela was looking at was the ‘capital’ of the ‘Eon Kingdom’.
Demonic energy had suddenly appeared near the capital.
Literally in the past.
It had disappeared now.
But the appearance of demonic energy was an undeniable fact.
Moreover, the concentration of demonic energy was extraordinary.
So, the current Intelligence Agency head, High Priest Rai, had gone to check.
Rai would return soon, and she would know.
What had happened.
“Saintess.”
Soon, Rai returned.
“I spoke directly with King Belpur. He said there was an artifact prepared to oppose Gaon, and the demonic energy appeared because of that artifact.”
“……An artifact?”
Adela furrowed her brow at Rai’s words and retorted.
Due to erosion, artifacts using demonic energy were strictly prohibited.
Yet an artifact using demonic energy?
“He said that directly, the king himself?”
“Y-yes.”
Rai answered hesitantly, and Adela couldn’t say anything.
It was absurd.
No matter how much to oppose Gaon, using a demonic energy artifact?
Adela turned her head to look at the Eon Kingdom marked on the Eye of God.
What are you thinking…
It was right then.
“……!”
Adela’s eyes flashed.
Demonic energy appeared again in the Eon Kingdom capital.
The concentration was very thick, just like before.
…This isn’t right.
Even if to oppose Gaon, it wasn’t acceptable.
In the unlikely event that the area gets eroded and the demon faction pulls tricks?
It would cause tremendous damage and chaos.
“High Priest.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“I’m thinking of dispatching a knight order to the Eon Kingdom; what do you think?”