Just like what Minhyuk had told him before, Elpis had decided to become selfish and think of himself. He had lived a life filled with suffering and torment for the longest time. It was to the point where he thought that he would be in this hell forever, and even if he were to take his final breath, it would be in this hell.

However, someone came and gave him happiness. So, Elpis wanted to stay with him and protect him.

‘I am Let’s Eat Sect’s Shield. His shield.’

[Book of Permanence.]

[You have made an eternal pledge to Minhyuk.]

[You have to fulfill all of his orders with your everything.]

Grasp—

Elpis’ hands grabbed the hilt of his sword, the ‘Devil Judge’s Sword’, tightly. It was finally the time for this sword to show off its true powers. Elpis had pretended that he was going to become Verus’ slave, just for this moment alone. From the very beginning, he intended to take this opportunity to get close to Verus.

[You, you bastard…!]

Great Demon Verus was left in a fluster.

‘How dare a measly human like you??! How dare you mock me like this?!’

And Elpis? He soared to the skies.

Flaaaaaaaaaash—

With his sharp, piercing glare and fluttering black hair, Elpis leapt to the skies and aimed at Verus. Everyone was shocked to see Elpis’ figure leaping in the skies with his sword raised against Great Demon Verus. Then, he said, “Berserk.”

[Berserk.]

[All abilities will be increased by 16% and all stats would have a +2 increase.]

[Thanks to the effects of the cooking buff, you won’t receive the Berserk’s penalty.]

[You can use Berserk for five minutes.]

The Berserk skill that Minhyuk used was originally Elpis’ skill. Which meant that its power was very much aligned with him. On top of that, Elpis had eaten the garlic bread and soup that Minhyuk had made for him less than an hour ago.

The effects of the dishes that Minhyuk made for him were amazing. It increased his sword’s basic attack by 300%, and even added a +2 on the level of the four-chaptered Devil Judge’s skill. It also increased his STR, AGI, and STM by 20%.

Simply put, the current Elpis was strong enough that he could probably even cut down the Gods.

Elpis also had skills with extreme penalties like Ghost Spear Ben’s Absolute Pinnacle Spear and Khan’s Giant’s Explosion. This skill was the final chapter of his Devil Judge’s skill.

“Splitting the Great Demon.”

Swoooooooooosh—

Elpis’ sword grew larger until it reached ten meters in length, as a powerful force wrapped around it. Then, Elpis swung his huge sword down on Verus’ head.

Puhaaaaaaaaaaaa—

Verus was, unfortunately, able to block his head with his demonic energy shield. When the sword and shield collided, a powerful shockwave erupted, which made the people in the vicinity fly back.

However, even if Verus was able to erect a shield, the current Elpis had a 300% increase in basic attack. On top of that, his Splitting the Great Demon skill, the skill that Elpis prepared to deal with Great Demon Verus, was a skill that added 3,000% attack and raised his attack power to the extreme.

Crack, crack, crack—

Cracks appeared on the shield that protected Verus, and his eyes widened in shock. Finally…

Clatter—

…the shield broke into pieces. Elpis’ sword continued its descent until it slammed straight down into Great Demon Verus’ forehead.

[Keuaaaaaaaaaaaack!]

This was a very shocking and monumental moment. The existence called the Great Demon Verus shrieked in pain the moment Elpis’ sword hit him.

Crack—

The sword crushed Verus’ skull. However, it did not end there, slashing down until it cut Verus in half, before returning to its original size as Elpis unleashed another skill.

“Vanquishing the Demon.”

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

It was a skill that allowed Elpis to swing his sword dozens of times in an instant. The skill’s level had also increased by a total of four levels, +2 levels from the Berserk skill and another +2 levels from Minhyuk’s cooking buff. These increased the number of times the sword could be swung. From a dozen, Elpis could now swing a hundred times in an instant. Great Demon Verus’ body was torn into shreds the moment the skill hit him.

[Keuhaaaack! Ack! Aaaaaaaack!]

None of the human players could fight against a ‘God’ yet. No one would deny the fact that there were no successors of the true and genuine gods among all of the God classes in existence. Yet, the current Elpis was strong enough to be considered as a ‘Battle God’.

“…Crazy.”

Even the members of Let’s Eat Sect that were watching the scene were all gaping in shock. With the tremendous display of power that Elpis was showing right now, they were sure that they would not be able to beat him, even if they fought together.

[Crazy! Diablo has split the Great Demon Verus!!!]

[His reason for existing thus far is to cut down the great demon. He’s finally realizing his goal!]

[Did you see?! This is the shocking power of the most powerful NPC in existence! A power that none of the players could ever go against. At this moment, I’m sure that the guilds from all over the world are burning with envy. They must definitely be jealous of Player Minhyuk for having Diablo as his vassal.]

[When Diablo said Minhyuk’s name in the ‘Book of Permanence’, I felt the flames in my heart burn brightly. Diablo is proving to us that his choice is correct!!!]

Everyone was filled with anticipation. Would Diablo create a new legend by cutting down Verus? But not long after, Elpis said, “Everyone… run… away… I… will… stop… him…”

He turned to look at the members of Let’s Eat Sect. The members of Let’s Eat Sect’s faces turned ugly when they saw the resignation in Elpis’ face. It seemed like he was ready to die in this place.

“I… have no regrets… even… if I… die!!!” Elpis shouted. That was true, he did not have any regrets. After all, even if he died here, he died as Minhyuk’s vassal. The thought brought a watery smile on Elpis’ face. But then, at that moment…

Baaaaaaaaaaaang—

…a powerful sword explosion broke free from the ground and struck Elpis. Elpis was able to block the swords from the sword explosion with his own sword, but he could not do anything against the destructive power that came along with it.

“Ugh!”

The impact knocked Elpis away. At the same time, a being appeared in the place where Verus once stood. The being was about two meters tall with two huge horns on his forehead. His skin was black, and the contours of his face were sharp and angled. Even his eyes were sharp, narrow, and yellow like that of a lizard’s. He also had a pair of bat wings on his back and a fluttering cape that showcased his majesty. His fingernails were yellow, long and sharp. Anyone that saw him would flinch and shrivel in fear. His figure reminded everyone of the ‘Demon King’ but he was greater and stronger than that.

This was because he was Great Demon Verus.

[You!!! I will take everything that is precious to you, trample on them and destroy them completely!!!]

Keuhaaaaaaaaaaa—

His fury caused an explosion from the demonic energy that was scattered in the surroundings. Brod swiftly stepped forward and cut off all of the attacks that stretched towards the members of Let’s Eat Sect.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—

However, the attacks stretched towards Lauvredo, Aruvel’s erofans, the elves, and the seafolk.

“Keuhaaaaaack!”

“Keheooooook!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaack!”

Screams rang rife as hundreds died from Verus’ wrath.

Then, Genie, along with the members of Let’s Eat Sect, slowly stood up from their position. The effect of Great Demon’s Wrath, the effect that forced them to kneel on the ground, has finally ended.

All of the members of Let’s Eat Sect were waiting for one person’s order. This was not a light matter that they could easily gloss over and decide on their own. Genie looked on top of Valhalla’s ramparts. To be exact, she was looking at the man, Minhyuk, who was standing on top of them. It seemed like the notification that he had logged in was not a dream. But then…

Swoooooooosh—

Fwooooooooosh—

Puhaaaaaaaaa—

…black demonic energy wrapped around Verus as demons appeared around him one after another.

[One of Verus’ 72 Devils, Zagan, has appeared!]

[One of Verus’ 72 Devils, Flauros, has appeared!]

[One of Verus’ 72 Devils, Forcas, has appeared!]

[Those that will be able to seal the members of the 72 Devils will receive rewards.]

The demons showed off their majesty in front of everyone. The truth was, it was not only the Great Demon that the players could not fight against, but also the Devil Legion that served Verus.

Flauros was a male demon with a leopard’s fur wrapped around his body, a javelin in his hand, and a huge black hawk on his right shoulder. Zagan was a bipedal bull with a pair of gryphon’s wings on his back and countless demons behind him. Forcas was an old man riding on a white horse with a long, impressive white beard, and a huge scythe on hand. Behind them stood thousands of monsters, humans, elves, and orcs with chains wrapped around one of their legs.

These demons were not even in the top forty of the demons under his command, in fact, they were the lowest in terms of rankings. This proved that Verus did not have the power to summon his top ranking demons at the moment. However, it still did not take away the fact that he summoned three of his generals at once.

Elpis immediately moved forward and blocked Verus and the three demons that he summoned.

“Everyone… quickly… escape…!” Elpis shouted, hand clasping his sword tightly and eyes filled with the determination to die. However, the eyes of all of the members of Let’s Eat Sect were all trained on Minhyuk, who was standing on top of the fortress’ ramparts. He made eye contact with each of them.

[Guild Master Minhyuk: As your master, I command you.]

All of them held their breaths as they waited for his orders. Do they leave Elpis behind or do they fight those mysterious beings in front of them? Either of the two, they would follow his choice.

[Guild Master Minhyuk: We will save Elpis and seal the Great Demon and the rest of the demons present.]

“Roger!!!”

“Okaaaaaaay!”

“Uwooooooooooooh!”

The members of Let’s Eat Sect all jumped up as if they had been waiting for this moment.

‘The stun just a while ago was definitely the great demon’s power. He can’t actually bind us.’

The entire world was shocked to see them running forward.

[Player Minhyuk has made a decision!]

[Let’s Eat Sect is not backing down!!! Right now, they’re rushing towards the demons!!!]

[They look cool as they rush to save Diablo!!!]

[That’s a very foolish decision!!! Players against demons is definitely impossible! So, why am I crying right now?!]

Meanwhile, Genie, who was also running forward, asked…

[Vice-Guild Master Genie: What about you?]

She thought that he would run together with them after he gave his orders. But then, Minhyuk said…

[Guild Master Minhyuk: I’ll come after eating this very delicious meal. Endure until then.]

***

Ardo’s Training Grounds was the first place that new Athenae players would step foot on. This was the place where they could learn many basic things, like how to attack through the scarecrow hitting quest, how to use the inventory, how the concept of stats worked and many other things. This was literally a tutorial point.

In this place, there were two people known as the neighborhood’s specialty. These two people were none other than Instructor Valen and his wife, Instructor Roina. They always showed the other players a refreshing scene by dealing with the arrogant and cocky new players.

However, the players that had created their characters at this very day had no choice but to look around in confusion.

“What the hell?!”

“Where’s the instructor?!”

The new players were bewildered. They were about to lose their cool until the instructor appeared. However, their instructor looked completely different from usual when he was instructing them in this tutorial zone. Today, he was wearing shiny and tough leather armor, with a well-maintained, sharp sword hanging on his waist.

“This guy will help you train today,” The instructor said, turning around and walking forward after leaving them with another instructor. There, in the distance, stood a woman waiting for him. This woman was none other than his wife, Roina. She was the person that contributed greatly and made Instructor Valen a local specialty. After all, they usually worked in a pair when they dealt with the arrogant players! Roina was also wearing shiny silver full-plate armor with a spear in her hand.

“Wa… wait! Where are you going?! Is this something that NPCs can do?! What’s more important than doing this?!” One of the players asked in disbelief.

Instructor Valen looked back at him with a smile and said, “Saving the world.”

Then, the two people disappeared in a flash of light.