All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place as I obtained the status of the gods.
There was no longer any reason to hesitate.
If I continued to leave the Demon King alone, South Korea would be destroyed by his acts of destruction.
Therefore—
-Swoosh!
Right now, I was approaching the Demon King, turning into a streak of light.
I had already exerted my divine status to visit Asgard.
My speed was truly like light, crossing through space in an instant.
‘Is the given time about three hours?’
Originally, the time I could maintain this status was a mere ten minutes.
However, after visiting Asgard and taking the status of the gods, that time had increased to three hours.
Of course, it wasn’t just the time that had increased.
The power enveloping my entire body was immense.
Although it wasn’t quite as much as when I had triggered the Twilight of the Gods in the past, it was powerful enough.
It was strong enough to take down the Demon King, a being who had reached an unknown realm.
Just as I was advancing at peak speed—
“Boom!”
I could detect the sound of an explosion coming from a place not too far away.
In that moment—
-Flash!
Space folded with the sensation of my body stretching.
“Die! You humans who are worse than insects!”
Directly ahead I saw someone with long, flowing gray hair and a slender body.
He, whose eyes stood out as if they contained the pitch-black abyss, was none other than—
“Ingram.”
Demon King Ingram.
He was a part of the darkness and the being at the absolute pinnacle of all demons.
“Ohohohoho!”
Upon confirming my presence, the Demon King let out a sinister laugh.
The complex emotions contained within that laughter seemed to permeate deep into my lungs.
It was just a laugh.
However, he was a being so powerful that he could shake the mental state of someone like me, who had even obtained the status of a god.
“Who do we have here? Isn’t it the human who dared to destroy my precious things?”
As I thought.
I wondered if the Demon King might be different, but not at all.
He didn’t remember me either.
Doubts began to spring up about what had brought them to Earth and why I was the only one they didn’t remember.
However—
‘That’s for later.’
That was a matter for another time.
The priority was the Demon King before my eyes.
And—
“Clop, clop, clop.”
The five Legion Commanders surrounded the area as if guarding him.
“You arrived quickly.”
Among them, I offered a greeting to Jin, the Magic Dragon Legion Commander, whom I had seen a moment ago.
“You…!”
He looked as if he would explode and charge at any moment, but he soon restrained himself.
It was because the Demon King he served was right beside him.
I shifted my attention and gazed at the other Legion Commanders around him one by one.
“Oh my? Are you perhaps interested in me?”
Beauty.
If there was an essence of allure, it seemed to exist for her.
The one with blonde hair that looked like silk, delicate features, and uniquely emphasized red lips was Lucia, the Yoma Legion Commander.
She was the Succubus Queen, known as the number-one rank among the Demon Clan regarding mental magic.
And next to her—
“….”
Someone wearing a purple pointed hat and a robe that covered their entire body, looking like a stereotypical mage.
-Fwoosh
The one from whose gaps an ominous aura of magical power leaked out was Zeton, the Magic Legion Commander. And—
“Crackle!”
The Undead Legion Commander.
I had been very curious.
If I wasn’t the Undead Legion Commander, I wondered who would be occupying that seat.
What I felt immediately was an immense chill.
A coldness, just like the ability I used to use in the past, dominated the surroundings.
It was so intense that it seemed as if snow was swirling only around that being.
Night Armor and the blue light hidden within it.
‘Is it a Living Armor?’
Normally, one would think there was someone else inside.
But no.
The armor itself was that being’s identity.
A Living Armor.
A high-ranking demon referred to as living equipment.
However—
‘A mere Living Armor is a Legion Commander?’
I couldn’t help but have doubts at that moment.
A Living Armor was merely a high-ranking demon.
It wasn’t a being capable of rising to the rank of Legion Commander.
Then how?
But I couldn’t continue those thoughts any further.
“…Salmora.”
A name I couldn’t help but utter aloud involuntarily.
He was the Plague Legion Commander and the one who had first announced his appearance.
The one who seemed to be behind all the conspiracies.
-Smirk
He gave me a meaningful smile.
At that moment—
-Shiver.
It felt as if a chill ran down my spine.
How should I put it?
It was a premonition that something was very foreign, that something was going wrong.
‘He knows!’
I realized it at that moment.
The fact that Salmora knew about me.
Only he knew the truth that even the Demon King was unaware of.
“You…”
“Shut that mouth of yours!”
But the conversation could not continue.
It was because the enraged Demon King intervened.
“If you intend to wag that disgusting, smelly mouth of yours in front of me, you had better be careful. I am being very patient right now.”
Due to the death of the Hero, he harbored an intense grudge against me.
Perhaps it was a relief that he didn’t remember me.
If he found out that he had lost the Hero to the same person twice, he wouldn’t be reacting like this.
“But I am a being of dignity. How could I lay hands on a trivial human due to a moment of anger?”
The Demon King looked around.
Taking that as a signal—
“Thud.”
The Legion Commanders took a step forward.
“Prove it. Whether you are capable of reaching me.”
That was also a characteristic of the Demon King.
A tiered deployment.
First the demons, then the officers, then the Legion Commanders, and finally the Demon King.
It was a device designed to allow a Hero to grow, but it was also like a compulsion that shackled him.
It was the same for the Legion Commanders.
They placed themselves on a different line even if things would be easier if they joined forces with the Demon King.
It was as if the battle with the Demon King always had to be dramatic.
Of course, I said nothing about that phenomenon.
Facing five Legion Commanders and the Demon King simultaneously would be quite a difficult task even for me.
If they were going to set the stage like this themselves, I had no reason to refuse.
Of course, did that mean they were easy opponents?
Not at all.
“Hohohoho!”
An alluring laugh spread through the surroundings.
Along with that laughter from Lucia, the Yoma Legion Commander—
-Vreeeeeee
A sudden dizziness washed over me.
That signified the manifestation of mental magic.
It was truly surprising.
Right now, I was not human.
I had obtained the status of a god—the unique God of Victory.
And yet, she was manifesting mental magic that was supposed to only work on underlings?
Against me, who had obtained the supreme status of a god?
However, it was possible for Lucia because she possessed [Infinite Mind]
Her mental power was infinite.
No matter how supreme a status a god had achieved, there was no way her mental magic wouldn’t work.
Along with that—
-Zzzzt, zzzzzzt!
Something began to appear in all directions.
It was an uncountable number of Legion Commanders.
“How is it? This is a falsehood yet the truth. An illusion that is the truth yet also a falsehood.”
It wasn’t just Lucia’s authority.
Through the illusion magic of Zeton, the Magic Legion Commander, they had created clones that were fake but acted as if they were real.
There was no need to think deeply.
The Legion Commanders appearing around me now were all real enough to exert actual physical force.
Simply put, I was now in a position where I had to face thousands, even tens of thousands of Legion Commanders.
‘The five Legion Commanders have never threatened an enemy simultaneously before.’
The synergy of the Legion Commanders was terrifying.
However, the fact that the Legion Commanders had launched a coordinated attack was something that had never happened in history.
It had to be that way.
The purpose of the Legion Commanders was, after all, to serve as stepping stones for the growth of the existence known as the Hero.
When the time came, they were destined to become experience points for the Hero in order of their strength—literally being dealt with in a tiered fashion.
But the one standing before the Demon King now was me, not the Hero.
Although the Demon King didn’t join in, there was no reason for him to be that concerned about me.
Therefore, I had to face a coordinated attack of the Legion Commanders that had never appeared in history—facing five powerhouses simultaneously, even if it wasn’t all six Legion Commanders.
But it was fine.
Even if there were a thousand or ten thousand Legion Commanders, the tide of battle would not change.
[Victory Declaration]
Something I couldn’t do until recently because my status was insufficient.
[Victory Declaration] That was the blessing of the God of Victory bestowed upon a certain area of this battlefield.
“I shall surely be victorious.”
I am the God of Victory and the God of Victory brings the promised triumph.
Right now, the victory bestowed upon this battlefield was directed toward me.
“You…!”
“Die!”
Legion Commanders rushed in from all directions.
The attack, which surged fiercely as if they were a single body, was truly something that could be called a disaster.
However, even as I watched that—
I did not dodge.
There was only one thing I had to do.
The Sword of Victory held in my hand—
-Slice.
I simply swung it.
Along with that—
-Schwing!
Accompanied by the eerie sound of something being cut—
“Splurt!”
The corpse of the bifurcated Yoma Legion Commander rolled across the ground.
But it was only one.
Hundreds, even thousands of Lucias still remained.
Furthermore, fatal attacks were aiming for the opening created while attacking the enemy.
Naturally, as much as I allowed an opening, I would have to allow an attack.
However—
-Whoosh.
It missed.
A coincidence?
I mean—
-Swoosh, swoosh!
No.
I dodged the attacks of all the rushing Legion Commanders.
To be precise, it wasn’t that I dodged them, but rather that their attacks ‘glanced off.’
“How?!”
The act of killing a person.
There was no way there could be a mistake in those attacks.
However—
-Swoosh, swoosh!
Despite repeated attacks, their strikes were missing as if that were only natural.
It looked as if they were missing on purpose.
This unbelievable, miracle-like scene was a natural sight for me.
[Victory Declaration]
As I said before, that was my unique authority to declare victory.
What is victory?
It means not losing and to bring me victory, causality was twisted.
The enemies’ attacks will always miss.
[Absolute Hit]
My attacks will always hit and even a single attack becomes a fatal strike that ends the enemy’s life.
[Critical Strike], and so on.
For my victory, all causality and fate were twisted.
No matter how powerful an authority they exerted, no matter how many numbers they threw at me, the fate that I would be victorious would not change.
Their movements right now?
All of it was merely a struggle in vain.
Since victory had already been declared, all that remained for them was to accept that fate.
Of course—
“Hyaaaaah!”
“Haaaaah!”
There was no way they would accept it gracefully.
Normally, I would have enjoyed that situation leisurely.
However, I was the one being chased by time.
I could only maintain my divine status for about two hours (the time had decreased by one hour because I consumed a lot of status for the [Victory Declaration]).
Therefore—
“Behold! This is the Promised Sword of Victory!”
The Sword of Victory in my hand—
-Ooooooooong!
It grew to an immense size.
Soon, it left my hand and flew through the air, and its size grew in an instant to fill the space.
Of course—
“Die!”
“Urgh!”
Their desperate struggles did not end, but it was useless.
No matter what attack they made, their strikes only turned into futilities due to the [Absolute Hit] for my victory.
Thus, the Promised Sword of Victory was completed.
“For victory!”
With that simple motion of swiping my finger downward—
-Flash!
The giant Sword of Victory performed a horizontal slash and at that moment silence dominated the world and that silence represented death.
-Slide, thud!
Everywhere, the corpses of the Legion Commanders, whose upper and lower bodies had been separated, increased in number.
Without a single exception, every Legion Commander present collapsed like bundles of straw and met their end.