Chapter 211  

The devils, who seemed to be everywhere, started to get more tense. It was clear that they were getting nervous.

‘The Grand Spirits and the Great Devils are rivals, so the Great Devils could not just ignore their presence, considering that their classes are on par.’

Because they were not in the Underworld, the Grand Spirits could not unleash their full potential. However, the ordinary devils still could not stand a chance against the Grand Spirits.

"Hmm… So this is the Demon World…? This is going to be very interesting…”

Igrett, the Grand Spirit of Fire, who was composed of magma entirely, had a massive triangular torso and thick arms, as well as an armor and a helmet made of rock. When Igrett, who was floating in the air, reached out his arms and touched the wall of the building, it melted instantly.

"Hmm, this is quite weak, just like those feeble demons," Igrett said.

"How dare you say that!” A devil in the form of a wolf charged at Igrett in response to his provocation.

He leaped up and tried to slash Igrett with his sharp claws, but instead, his arm melted away as Igrett caught it.

"Kraaaah!" the devil in the form of a wolf cried out.

"How pitiful," Igrett muttered.

"You arrogant human, you are not in the Underworld right now. Don’t forget that you’re in the Demon World. So, do you think I would be afraid of such Spirits?" Astaroth shouted at Lee Shin.

The next moment, the dragon perched on the spire, spread his wings and took a deep breath.

"Die!" Astaroth shouted.

The dragon spewed out a torrent of demon power from his mouth.

‘So is he from the Dragon Tribe just like I expected?’

Lee Shin was about to respond, but he deactivated his mana upon seeing the other Grand Spirits blocking his path.

"Please leave it to us," Lia said.

Lia, the Grand Spirit of Light, extended both hands, gathering light, and then sent it toward the demon power. The other Grand Spirits who were around also activated their abilities to push the demons back.

"Kill them! Deal with the humans and the Spirits!" Astaroth shouted.

Since this Great Devil was seated on the twenty-ninth throne, he had a great influence on the other devils. A tremendous number of devils had gathered in an instant—and some of them were quite powerful.

"Darn it, what are you going to do? There are just so many enemies,” Jack asked Lee Shin as he fought off the devils who were charging at both of them.

‘Hmmm… This guy is quite responsible, trying to fulfill his duty.’

Lee Shin thought that Jack did not have to work that hard.

"If we have a lot of enemies to face, then I will just summon more beings to support us,” Lee Shin replied.

[Shadow Space]

By now, Lee Shin had already killed many enemies, and most of them were contained within the Shadow Space.

"Come out," Lee Shin said.

The next moment, the shadow expanded and covered the surrounding land in an instant, revealing the Skeletons wriggling inside.

Geaughh—

The hollow eye sockets of the dead stared at the devils, and the dark mana spread in all directions, pushing back their demon power.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

"Darn it! You damn Skeleton creatures! Just smash them! Crush them all!"

The devils could not regain their composure in the face of the fearless procession of the undead, because the undead were not scared of death.

"How cute, my children," Razmo said.

Razmo, who was the boss of the 75th floor situated on the strange planet of Herte, swung his remaining strands of hair to massacre the devils.

Swoosh—!

Warrie, cutting through chunks of demon power with his sword, scanned the battlefield with his red eyes.

"Panic Station," May said, casting black mana and spreading black magic in all directions, cursing the devils.

"It seems like you’ve prepared many tricks…” Astaroth muttered.

In an instant, the atmosphere on the battlefield changed drastically, and when Astaroth sensed it, he gritted his teeth. At such a sight, Lee Shin started to chuckle. Merely his corps could get a high-ranking Great Devil gritting his teeth.

"Astaroth, this is what you get for messing with Earth," Lee Shin said.

"...Don't be so arrogant, human," Astaroth replied.

Astaroth scrunched his face and sent a mass of demon power toward Lee Shin from the tip of his spear.

‘Shiel—’

Just as Lee Shin was about to bring out a shield to block it, Jack dashed forward and suddenly appeared in front of Lee Shin, deflecting the incoming demon power.

"Keugh..." Jack groaned.

As soon as the demon power touched Jack, it stuck to him and enveloped him like a cocoon.

"Keugh... Keuk..." Jack continued to groan.

"Jack!" Lee Shin called out.

Jack collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. His hand started to tremble.

“Leg…” Jack muttered.

“Leg?” Lee Shin asked.

“I feel… lazy…” Jack muttered again.

“Did you say you feel lazy?” Lee Shin asked.

Lee Shin felt an approaching demon power and turned around. Then he noticed that Astaroth’s follow-up attack was coming straight at him. He threw a blue mass of mana at the demon power and started running. The Great Devil’s demon power swallowed his mana and passed by him. ‘Does this mean I can’t stop him with this amount of mana?’

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

Dozens of demon-power projectiles flew at him one after another.

‘The Great Devil of Negligence… He’s quite tricky to deal with…’

This Great Devil possessed an annoying ability that made things difficult. When his power as a deity touched an individual, a profound sense of lethargy and apathy would overwhelm them, just like what Jack was experiencing right now, making it impossible for Lee Shin to move.

‘Tsk.’

The power of a deity of this Great Devil was Negligence. He could endlessly emit the power that stimulated such an attitude in others. Among all the projectiles that were flying toward him, Lee Shin had to distinguish which contained this power.

‘Wait a second… I don’t have to try to distinguish them…’

[Shadow Space]

Lee Shin thought of summoning the Skeletons so they could get hit by the demon power instead of him.

Bababam—!

The undead who walked out of the Shadow Space clashed with Astaroth’s power of a deity as soon as they emerged. Therefore, the moment they emerged, they rolled to the ground.

“Ugh, you devil…!” Astaroth’s distressed expression was quite amusing to look at.

"What are you saying? You’re the devil,” Lee Shin replied.

[Thunderbolt Explosion]

Lee Shin spun the thunderbolts that gathered in his palm and hurled them at Astaroth.

"No way!" Astaroth shouted.

Astaroth’s spear whirled in the air and sliced through the incoming sphere of thunderbolt. Then, the demon power that flowed from his spear enveloped it.

"Kahaha! Is this all you’ve... Keugh!" Astaroth gasped.

If that were all Lee Shin had prepared, he would not have come here in the first place.

[Permeation]

The switch of the circuit placed inside the sphere of thunderbolt was turned on, and a new mana was activated.

"No way...!" Astaroth started to panic.

The divine power that had been hidden in the thunderbolt burst out and began to devour the demon power. While Astaroth was frantically waving his spear in the air to fend it off, Martyr reached Lee Shin’s hand almost as if it was being magnetically drawn into his hand.

Woong—

- I feel more confident than last time!

It was the fusion technique of divine power and black mana that effortlessly knocked down Sayr, a feat that would have been impossible without Martyr.

[Divine Strike True Sword]

Lee Shin bent his wrist inward to pull the sword as close to him as possible, then swung it in a single motion. Black mana and golden divine power interlocked and formed a semi-circle.

Woong—!

The space between Astaroth and Lee Shin parted, and the True Sword, infused with both divine power and black mana, surged toward Astaroth.

"What the heck is going on right now…?” Jack, who had been watching the scene, blurted out.

Nearby, Laurent, who had been firing his gun diligently, also let out a short exclamation. The incessant sound of gunfire suddenly stopped.

Swoosh—!

"Kraaah!" Astaroth screamed in pain.

Under Lee Shin’s Divine Strike True Sword, the dragon had his wings severed, while Astaroth had his arm cut off. They plummeted to the ground. Confused and powerless, Astaroth was helplessly pinned down on the dark ground because his demon power stopped working.

Zephyr's eyes and mouth opened wide in excitement when he witnessed how a single strike from Lee Shin had defeated the Great Devil in an instant. Jack's eyes were filled with fear, and Laurent nodded in satisfaction when they saw Lee Shin’s achievement.

"Yeah, the guy who defeated me should have this much of a skill at least…” Laurent muttered as he took off his sunglasses.

Ignoring Laurent, Lee Shin activated his mana once again. In truth, using this kind of technique more than once was highly inefficient. That was because if anyone had seen this technique once, all they had to do was to avoid it instead of trying to block it.

"Hyaap!"

There came another swing of the sword. However, this time, Lee Shin’s strike merely grazed Astaroth as he flapped his wings to dodge.

"Heh... Are you testing me for my slothfulness?" Astaroth laughed at Lee Shin.

Astaroth’s wings, which had been moving slowly just like his title would suggest, began to accelerate, creating a fierce sonic wave.

"Oh, was I?” Lee Shin replied.

Astaroth, the Great Devil of Negligence, was now moving at a level of speed that was vastly different from before. Just like a sports car racing on an open highway, his demon power left long marks behind as he charged forward.

[Transcendence]

It was only after Lee Shin used his Transcendence skill that he began to grasp Astaroth’s speed clearly. His wings moved so fast that it would not be a surprise if they ripped apart. In the blink of an eye, he got close and his blade was right in front of Lee Shin, gleaming chillingly.

[Rising Ground]

Crack— Thud!

Lee Shin raised the ground to change the trajectory of the spear.

Woong—

Surprised that his attack had been blocked, Astaroth swung his blade one more time.

[Steel Plate Shield]

This time, Lee Shin created a shield precisely at the point where the blade was aimed for. With each strike, the shield clanged, and shockwaves emanated from it. Astaroth seemed to be taken aback; his already ugly face was distorted even further. However, Lee Shin was also having a headache from this situation. ‘It seems like the power of a deity, Negligence, has been released.’

Jack, who had been motionless out of Negligence, stood up, gripping his head. In other words, Astaroth was also giving his all into the fight. However, that was also the case for Lee Shin as well, as he was using Transcendence at the moment. The movements were so fast that the others could not even think of intervening.

"Hades!" Lee Shin called the Grand Spirit of Darkness.

At Lee Shin’s call, darkness descended from the sky and surrounded them.

Woosh—!

No matter how much power the Great Devil of Negligence had, he would not be able to strike Lee Shin accurately if he could not see clearly.

- I will take care of him.

The voice of Hades, the Grand Spirit of Darkness, echoed in Lee Shin’s head. At the same time, Lee Shin spread out his mana infused with the darkness element in all directions.

‘He’s getting trapped.’

Astaroth was moving through space at an incredible speed. It seemed like he was slashing through the air with every move in order to find where Lee Shin was, but it was obvious that he was also gradually getting tired. His movements were slowing down, and a whimper slipped out of his mouth.

"Ugh..."

The next moment, Lee Shin connected thin strands of mana to form a web that enveloped the space covered in darkness and flipped it upside down.

"Keugh...!" The Great Devil of Negligence groaned as he started to panic.

In the darkness that obscured the senses, one could feel the space itself contorting. Besides, even a slight distortion would cause a significant impact on Astaroth, who was flying at an incredible speed. With the dozens of successive attacks that distorted the senses, it seemed like Astaroth had lost his balance and contorted his body.

‘Now is the time!’

The next moment, a short dark spear emerged in the darkness.

Swoosh—!

Even the violent shockwave caused by the thrust of the spear was swallowed by the darkness and disappeared.

"Ugh..." Astaroth’s feeble voice could be heard, as he was struck by the short spear.

When the curtain of darkness was lifted, they could see Astaroth, bleeding and trembling, collapsed to the ground.

"What the hell? What's going on right now?” Zephyr's astonishment at seeing Astaroth’s state was clearly conveyed in his voice.

Laurent, who had been pressing his muzzle against the head of the muscular mass, let out a bitter laugh. Jack was in a ready position to attack in anticipation of the chaos the devils would soon cause.

"How…! How can I… lose against… a human…” Astaroth muttered very slowly.

Perhaps due to the recoil of Astaroth’s power of a deity, his words came out painfully slow, which would have sounded annoying to anyone listening.

Thunk!

Without hesitation, Lee Shin severed his head using Martyr.

[You have taken away the divinity class of Astaroth.]

[Your divinity class has elevated.]

[You have defeated an opponent with a divinity class of 10 or higher.]

Lee Shin was somewhat disappointed to hear that Astaroth’s divinity class was not 20. Then, he wondered if it was because his divinity class had been taken away by the power of chaos initially.

In the brief moment, the Great Devil unleashed the power of a deity, it seemed as if he had a divinity class of 20 or higher. The only thing that might indicate otherwise was the duration of the activation. Then, Lee Shin thought that if his divinity class had indeed been 20 or higher, it would have been even more challenging to deal with him.

‘I already have a divinity class of 5.’

Now, Lee Shin had a divinity class close to that of an Apostle. Besides, it might even be similar to that of a low-rank god.

"The demon power of Astaroth!"

"Hey! It's mine! That's mine!"

"Step back! If you come any closer, I’m going to kill you!"

Besides Astaroth’s lifeless body, there was also his demon power that was left behind—the only things that remained after the tumultuous battle.

[Zombification]

When Lee Shin infused black mana into the Great Devil’s corpse, Astaroth, whose body had been quickly rotted, rose to his feet.

"Why aren’t you making him your subordinate?” Laurent raised a question.

A zombified body could not be used as a Skeleton in the future. However, during the time one was zombified, one could harness the full extent of their original power and that was what Lee Shin was trying to do.

/p>

"Hey, look over there," Lee Shin said, pointing.

Woong—!

Following where Lee Shin cast his gaze, the entire group turned their heads. In the sky above the now chaotic territory, dark dense energy gathered, distorting the space.

"No way…" Zephyr muttered.

A moment later, Zephyr's mouth opened wide in shock and he stared blankly at the sky.

"Hehehehehe..."

Two gates appeared in the sky. From within them, sinister laughter flowed out.

"I still can’t believe that Astaroth is dead," Naberius said.

"Naberius, you've found a human with abilities that you'd like," Berith said, chuckling.

"Kehehe, I'll take that human with me," Naberius said.

"Then I'll take Astaroth’s demon power," Berith replied.

"Berith, you’re too greedy. Can't you see what's in front of you?" Naberius said.

Two Great Devils, one named Naberius and sits on the twenty-fourth throne and the other named Berith, who sits on the twenty-eighth throne, revealed themselves.

"Ugh, some annoying pests have arrived," Laurent muttered.

Sizzle—

With a lit cigarette in his mouth, Laurent raised his sniper rifle.

"Let's start by killing one of them," Laurent smirked.