Chapter 69

Honestly, I was impressed.

Among the lower-ranked Archdukes, few ever dared face me head-on—but she had not only crossed dimensions to Earth for the sake of defeating me, she’d even prepared this thoroughly after already losing once.

Neutralizing Singularity with her Incarnation’s ability was one thing, but to think she’d even found a way to destroy Endless Outer Path? That had caught me off guard.

Was it because of that necklace she held? The jewel embedded in it—clearly a refined Dimensional Core—was the same type of gem I’d once given her as a ring. Proof of how seriously she’d treated Patel.

Aggressive yet composed. Unpretentious toward friend or foe alike. No wonder her followers stayed loyal to her.

Still, if I let her go wild any longer, the damage would spiral out of control.

Half of Daegu was already gone, its rail lines wiped off the map. Without hesitation, I invoked the Star Scar and summoned a small army of tentacles.

Seventh Tentacle — Purgatory.

An uncountable number of tentacles blanketed the sky and earth, weaving together into a world of their own.

“This is… a Gate?”

“Correct.”

Sharp as expected of an Archduke. Yes—this was a Gate made entirely of tentacles.

They didn’t just attack infinitely from within; no matter how much heat she spewed, they no longer withered like before. Because these weren’t mere summons anymore—they had fused completely with the Gate’s environment.

“For one who isn’t even an Archduke to create a Gate… truly, you’re a monster beyond definition.”

Normally, this technique was meant to cut off a master from their servants by drowning them in endless tentacles. But this time, I had a different goal—to stop her from using the Dimensional Core again.

Inside a Gate, one cannot summon another Gate. Even creating one slightly underground destabilizes it enough to collapse the terrain. In an isolated dimension like this, such summoning is impossible.

The necklace flickered several times, but the space refused to tear open again.

She realized it too. Her trump card had just been sealed away.

Now, tens of thousands of tentacles swarmed toward her all at once.

BOOM, BOOM, KWA-GANG!

Flauros fought back relentlessly, swatting away tentacles that rained down from above and burst from below.

“To think you’d wield both a perfect spear and shield, and even control the battlefield itself… No wonder the Archdukes tremble just hearing your name.”

She spat flames at me—still composed enough to talk, for now. But that composure wouldn’t last.

I formed the third hand seal. The very Extreme Magic I’d used to subdue Yoo Se-byeol completely.

Extreme Magic — Karmic Recognition.

The less one knows about me, the heavier the restraints. Sight, hearing, smell—all five senses begin to falter, and even abilities become sluggish.

But the real danger was subtler: the target’s sense of time slowed to a crawl. To them, each second stretched endlessly—making the Purgatory Tentacle inescapable, and allowing my Singularity, usually cast in 1.4 to 2.2 seconds, to detonate almost instantly.

“It’s useless. I’ve already prepared for that.”

Having experienced Karmic Recognition once before, Flauros merely scoffed. Unlike Yoo Se-byeol, frozen stiff, Flauros could still move even under its weight. She likely assumed my magic had weakened.

After all, she’d learned about my spells and habits during our fight in the Demon Realm,
and gathered plenty of intel from the Council as well.

But what she didn’t realize was that buried among those truths… were carefully planted lies.

Like the story that the Apostle of the Outer God was secretly lovers with the Butcher of Bishkek. Or that the loyal black mage who’d guided her here—was me.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Wha—!?”

THUD!

A wet sound followed as a chunk of her shoulder was neatly carved away.

Honestly, that one surprised even me.

There were few lower-ranked Archdukes who ever tried to face me head-on. Yet not only had she crossed worlds just to defeat me—she’d actually prepared this thoroughly after already losing once.

Neutralizing Singularity with her Incarnation’s power was one thing. But to destroy Endless Outer Path as well? I hadn’t seen that coming.

Maybe it was thanks to that necklace. The gem—clearly refined from a Dimensional Core—was the same kind I’d once given her, set in a ring. Proof that she’d taken Patel seriously.

Courageous. Proud. Honest, regardless of who stood before her. No wonder her Familiars followed her so loyally.

But if I let her go any further, the destruction would be beyond repair. Half of Daegu was already gone. So I didn’t hesitate—I drew on the Star Scar and summoned one of the single-digit tentacles.

Ninth Tentacle — Tentacle of Pursuit.

Fifteen years’ worth of death in the Demon Realm crashed down on her all at once. Even with her “Flame of Resurrection,” burning her brain endlessly to keep herself conscious, there was no way she could regenerate her body under that strain.

She fell to her knees from the impact, and the tentacles forming the Gate immediately converged, trying to pin her down.

Yet even then, Flauros didn’t give up. She tore the tentacles apart with her remaining arm, crawling forward inch by inch.

“You bastard… what kind of cheap trick—”

“Maybe you were the one who assumed you knew me too well.”

“What—”

“Eyes front, now. Digestion, eat.”

“Kiiieeeek!!”

At my command, the Tentacle of Digestion, which had been lying motionless, snapped its jaws wide and swallowed her whole.

It crushed the Archduke under its own massive weight—then convulsed violently, writhing in agony.

Even a tentacle that could dissolve anything with acid struggled to digest the flames of Flauros.

Eventually, she tore through its belly and crawled free, but her breath came ragged, and exhaustion was written all over her face.

The tentacles that bound her arms and legs returned again, and this time, she couldn’t shake them off completely.

“Haa… haa… not yet. I’m not done yet…!”

The hand pressed against the ground transformed—into the paw of a great beast.

It was the physical manifestation of her will to burn everything she was to reach her goal: the full descent of Flauros, Archduke of Flame herself.

Even before my Outer God, I had denied her many times. But perhaps… I did like her more than I’d admit.

In that sense, I decided to give her proper respect this time.

“You can be proud. If you survive this next spell, you’ll be the second one ever to do so.”

Enduring the scorching heat of her power, I forged the fourth Extreme Magic.

I’d already used up two of my strongest tentacles—so I’d finish this one with magic.

“Extreme Magic—”

She broke free of every restraint and vanished in a flash, reappearing behind me as her fist lunged forward, wreathed in sunlight-bright fire.

“Causal Severance.”

Every Singularity that had missed until now struck her body all at once.

Causal Severance.

The fourth Extreme Magic I used on her was both devastating and simple. Any missed attack rewound itself and hit its true mark—while any successful hit was nullified completely.

It didn’t affect indirect recoil effects—like the explosions she’d triggered by reflecting fire and ice—but every spell she had dodged before now struck her simultaneously, bursting across her body in a chain of detonations.

“Ah—!”

Flauros let out a brief cry and lost consciousness instantly.

Or rather—calling it collapsing felt inaccurate. Only her head fell to the ground.

Her Incarnation’s body, engulfed by hundreds of Singularities, was shredded beyond recognition.

She wouldn’t die, of course. As an Archduke with regenerative power nearing immortality, this alone wouldn’t end her.

Even Naberius, the Archduke of Commanders, had died once after being struck by Causal Severance—only to resurrect later.

But unlike Naberius, who could rebuild his flesh from ashes, Flauros couldn’t replace her entire body. Had her head been destroyed as well, she truly would have found eternal rest this time.

Which was why, from the start, I had never once aimed a Singularity above her neck.

『Fear not…!』

“I’m telling you, it’s not because I liked her. Sure, her courage was admirable—but more than that, she was simply useful.”

My Outer God grew furious when I said that, but I didn’t regret my choice.

If the representative of the Council of Fire Archdukes were to die here, all the effort I’d invested in her during the last session would be for nothing.

On the contrary, if she—someone who had survived the Apostle of the Outer God twice—were to walk back into the Council alive, the influence she’d wield there would be tremendous.

And since she wasn’t even particularly hostile toward humanity, there was no real reason to kill her.

『Fear not!』

“How can I take responsibility for her safety if I don’t kill her, you ask? Hmm…”

I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Come to think of it, I had no idea where she’d been living up until now. Maybe she stayed inside her own Gate, or wandered between hot regions until I summoned her to the Council through the ring.

Either way, in her current state, she clearly couldn’t move around on her own. I couldn’t just leave her like this.

I picked up the robe that had been blown away during the fight and examined the sleeves. It was loose-fitting enough that… well, her head might fit inside.

“Think there’s enough space in the sleeve for her?”

『FEAR!!!!! NOT!!!!』

Rip—!

A fierce protest. There was no way my Outer God would allow me to share even a sleeve with an Archduke.

“Then how about the right sleeve?”

『NOT! NOT! NOT! NOT!』

Shame. If I tucked Flauros’s head into my robe, I wouldn’t have to worry about heating costs this winter.

But leaving her on the street wasn’t an option either. If she woke up and decided to settle in Daegu, the railway would never be rebuilt.

Besides, even if most of her body was gone, she was still an Archduke of the Demon Realm. Other demons might come for her power. I couldn’t risk Norkel showing up at the next Council waving Flauros’s head like some kind of grotesque centerpiece.

“Maybe I should display her in my dorm room instead?”

『Fear…』

“Alexei would probably understand. We share similar taste—huh?”

While I was debating it, something unexpected happened.

Flames flickered—and her body began to regenerate.

Even with her Flame of Resurrection, she had lost over ninety percent of her vessel. By all logic, it should’ve taken far longer for her to regain consciousness. But her recovery speed was staggering.

However, the rebuilt body… looked different.

She hadn’t changed gender, nor turned into a fur-covered panther resembling her true form—but even without my tentacle-enhanced vision, I could tell something had shifted.

『Fear not.』

“No, no—there’s a better idea than throwing her into magma.”

Her oddly altered form gave me a clear solution.

I lifted Flauros carefully and began preparing a spatial transfer spell. Destination: Ground Zero.

“Guess I’ll have to ask Margaret if she’s got a spare room.”

Even in the dead of winter, I—the coldhearted Apostle of the Outer God who drank only iced beverages—had made my decision.