I couldn't remove the anxiety from my face as I listened to my wife talk for nearly an hour. It was a very shocking and hard to accept truth for me, who had devoted myself to training without thinking.

“Surrender in... a week? Or else the demonic army will be sent...”

I couldn't finish talking. I wasn't sure what Lee Geonmyeong did, but he exploited a bug to prevent all users from logging out. I just never dreamed that he would threaten to send an army of one million demons if we didn't surrender within a week. I felt pained because I was training leisurely without knowing this fact. 

Yoo Seonyeong waved her hand to create a black mirror that showed the human world.

“This...”

It was a view of the Atlan Kingdom. Yoo Seonyeong zoomed in on the screen so I could see more details. The first thing I noticed was Mido standing on the wall and staring at the horizon with dignity. She was wearing armor that symbolized royalty instead of the dress she usually wore. Her sword was supporting her like a staff and her red cloak fluttered in the wind.

“Mido...”

I stared at Mido's face blankly. She was pretending to be casual but her eyes were full of fear. Mido was currently looking at the demons who were swarming like bees. The screen zoomed out again and I could see Lucifer and Ashtar leading the demons. It was clear that the demons were marching toward Metheus as Lee Geonmyeong warned. 

I had a sudden thought.

“Honey, Mido...!”

[Calm down.]

“How can I calm down when Mido and the other kids are going to die!”

[It's fine, so control your agitation.]

Yoo Seonyeong placed a hand on my shoulder. The cold chill made my head cool and I was able to regain my composure. I couldn't express the anxiety that was writhing in my mind. Now was the time to grit my teeth and think calmly.

“How is it fine?”

[It is literally as I said. I intentionally told you late. This means I have an idea, right?]

“Umm, but...”

[Do you have the Poison Eating Sword?]

“The Poison Eating Sword?”

Her completely unexpected words caused my eyes to widen. I immediately took the Poison Eating Sword from my inventory. Yoo Seonyeong smiled as she grabbed the Poison Eating Sword and made it float in the air.

[There is no time so I'll just briefly tell you the point. I'm going to lend you some of my strength.]

“......!”

[I can't go to the human world. It is because Pandora is connected to me. It will run wild and create h.e.l.l again. This is why Lee Geonmyeong is holding the people hostage. He is trying to prevent me from coming up to the human world.]

“This...”

I was speechless at the completely unexpected words. It was really unthinkable that Lee Geonmyeong had thought this far when making users unable to log out. It was all to prevent Pluto, my wife, from coming to the human world. Lee Geonmyeong's mind was so deep that it made my hairs stand on end.

[However, it is different if you lead the Army of Death.]

“...What?”

Just then, a blue gust of wind blew from the Poison Eating Sword held by Yoo Seonyeong. I raised my hands to block in front of me at the sudden situation. I can barely open my eyes to observe what was happening in front of me. The Poison Eating Sword was growing bigger and bigger. The Poison Eating Sword was growing endlessly by absorbing dark energy, not poison. 

The Poison Eating Sword grew. Finally, it exceeded my height and became the size of a car. Nevertheless, the growth of the Poison Eating Sword didn't stop. One minute pa.s.sed before it finally stopped growing.

[Hup.]

Yoo Seonyeong frowned and extended her hands toward the sword, releasing an enormous amount of energy. Then the giant sword started to compress again. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. She had obviously overdone it. Yoo Seonyeong stumbled slightly.

“Honey!”

[I'm fine.]

Yoo Seonyeong barely centered herself. After a while, she succeeded in compressing it to a size that could be worn on my back. The Poison Eating Sword was wrapped in a gray film and it felt like a huge black kitchen knife. Finally, the poison Eating Sword slowly floated in front of me. At the same time, Yoo Seonyeong nearly fell down. Fortunately, Alexus was next to her and supported her. 

Yoo Seonyeong gasped and told me with a pale face, [Go outside with it and there will be people waiting for you.]

I nodded at her words and slowly grabbed the Poison Eating Sword. A deep darkness was released from my sword and wrapped around my body. It waved from my shoulders like a black cloak. I was dressed in torn darkness and moved slowly toward the balcony. I opened the window. Once I finally appeared, there were huge shouts from below and this created a huge vibration.

It was the Army of Death I had only heard about in words. The four death army corps commanders appeared from the back one after another. The 4th corps commander, Ajucus, came to the front as a representative and spoke in a low voice, [I greet the successor of the Underworld.]

* * *

The fight between Park Muyeol and Ashtar continued for a long time. The fierce battle that lasted nearly an hour violently dug at the surrounding land. It was a b.l.o.o.d.y battle where victory couldn't be guaranteed. Some people's mouths dropped open when they saw Park Muyeol's incredible power. They showed a sense of reverence for him who dared to engage in a battle with Demon King Ashtar.

However, it was due to Park Muyeol's unreasonable use of Hercules' power.

“Cough.”

[Huhu. You're great. Amazing! It is amazing that you can take an attack from Ashtar with that little body! However, don't you feel that your body is collapsing due to the excessive force?]

“Shut up!”

Park Muyeol shouted as his wooden stick became bigger and waved at a terrible speed. Two of Ashtar's arms crossed to block it. However, it was Ashtar who was bounced back due to the tremendous power. Magic power circulated in his staff and stopped him mid-air. Ashtar was bounced back but didn't receive any damage at all.

[Huhu. I think you've lost more strength than before.]

“Keuk.”

Once again, Park Muyeol's wooden sword and Ashtar's sword collided, creating a huge sound. Zhen Sulong watching from the city walls cheered with clenched fists. He honestly wanted to intervene, but didn't because Park Muyeol had told him not to in an earlier whisper. It was also true of the others. Park Muyeol asked Zhen Sulong to immediately stop anyone who tried to come out.

'But...'

He couldn't just stand by. He currently had the dimensional scissors in his hand and it would be possible to cut off Ashtar's arm like the other day. Zhen Sulong thought that if Park Muyeol was in danger of dying then he would save Park Muyeol even if it meant breaking his promise. Just then—

“Ohhhh!”

A roar burst out from Park Muyeol. A tremendous fighting energy was being emitted from his body. There was a great vitality in the fighting energy and Park Muyeol rushed straight to Ashtar. The intangible fighting energy behind him turned into a half-moon shaped sword energy and flew toward Ashtar. The fl.u.s.tered Ashtar swung his sword to cut at the dozens of fighting energy blades. The moment Ashtar's blade touched the fighting energy blades, they pa.s.sed through the blade. 

[......!]

The astonished Ashtar was confused when he realized that the dozens of fighting energy blades were all meaningless. In the meantime, Park Muyeol's wooden sword grew and directly struck Ashtar in the abdomen.

[Cough!]

A tremendous force crushed the careless Ashtar's body. Ashtar's two heads simultaneously coughed up blood and he crashed to the ground. It was accompanied by a huge vibration. Moments later, Ashtar's form emerged from the dust. Ashtar wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked like he had been hurt.

[Kuooh, there is still one left. Good. Then let me respond properly. Let's compete once again!]

Black fighting energy rose from Ashtar. Park Muyeol frowned at the sight. This guy was called the Fighting G.o.d in the demon world, so it was natural that he would have fighting energy. He just used fighting energy as a trick, but Ashtar might be more skilled in using it.

“Groan. How long until you arrive?”

[The stick star, 'Hercules,' says it will be 10 minutes.]

“10 minutes. I don't know if I can hold on.”

Ashtar's fighting energy transcended Park Muyeol's imagination. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucifer was watching Ashtar fight the humans with nonchalant eyes. The fight that seemed it would be over quickly became a long battle so this brought unexpected excitement. The demons were watching the fight with great excitement. Lucifer was also sitting on a sedan chair carried by demons, holding his chin as he stared at the fight.

[...Um?]

Just then, Lucifer felt something approaching at a rapid pace. He slowly floated into the air and fired several lights that were concentrated energy toward the spot where the presence was arriving rapidly. The five pieces of demonic energy scattered in various directions and finally fell in one place. They attacked the set target from blind spots. 

Lucifer's mouth widened, revealing sharp teeth as he saw the figure coming out of the dust. The bored Lucifer greeted the new arrival with a smile, [It seems we meet again. I'm really glad to see you.]

[I agree.]

Hercules flew on the cloud and pulled out an olive club, swinging it down.