Was it correct to say that five great demons had emerged? The reason why various media questioned this was simple: Sitris hand. One of the five great demons who came to this world wasnt a great demon, but merely a part of the great demon. The attention of the public was bound to move away from Sitris hand.

What was the point of watching the hand of the 12th great demon when they could watch the 13th and 19th great demons fighting? People expected Sitris hand to be the first to be defeated. The media of each country didnt pay much attention to Kalatan Fortress. Yet eventually...

The ratings of the broadcasters showing the situation at Kalatan Fortress started to soar. The broadcasters showing the situations at Kalatan Fortress, Henlutu Fortress, Lilchard Fortress, Peltrino Fortress, and the Haspachi Canal were inundated with requests from viewers to show more about Kalatan Fortress. They had no choice but to do so.

Hiiiiiik!!

The ferociousness of the scene that was shown through the camera made even the commentators scream. Sitris hand, which was as big as the fortress walls, crushed the Rebecca Churchs paladins like flies. The cameras shook from the earthquake that occurred every time it moved and the impact was delivered to the viewers.

Kyaaaack!

D-Demon...! Demon!

Every time the hand that covered the sky hit the ground, they witnessed their colleagues dying. The terrified Rebecca Churchs priests scattered in all directions and fled. The leadership of Damian, who was currently serving his third term as the pope with the enthusiastic support of the church, was useless. Sitris hand was red like the skin of a newborn baby. It beat, grabbed, and killed everything that moved. The sight was so terrible that their courage to fight was lost.

Cruel bastard! What a cruel nature!

Even the leader of the Templar, who spread out his white wings and made his identity known to the world, was shaken. The ring of light floating above the archangels head poured out an enormous divinity but he couldnt stop the red hand from advancing.

The one-sided killing continued. The momentum of Sitris hand as it crushed the people of the fortress was so fierce that it seemed to be able to trample the whole continent without ever stopping.

-Isnt this much stronger than Saleos? The ground is crushed every time the hand is swung.

-It seems that even Grid would be crushed in one blow.

-There might be an immediate death sentence at that time.

The paladins of the Rebecca Church were famous for their strong armaments. They had defenses and buffs that were slightly below the level of a guardian, and they were tankers who could take the lead on a battlefield. Yet even they were turned to grey ash as soon as they were crushed by Sitris hand.

This was a slaughter that went beyond the level of a deadly blow. Sitris hand that killed dozens of paladins and priests every time it hit the ground was reminiscent of a final boss.

Isabel-chan, what should we do?

Pope Damian had earned the nickname Zombie Demon King for surviving four hours in the Demon King Subjugation of this years National Competition. His confidence had risen sharply since then, but now he lost his spirit, just like when he felt despair against Drevigo. He watched the members of the church scattering and being defeated without following his leadership, and his eyes turned red.

As he was feeling depressed, Isabel held his hand. Its okay. The goddess will give us protection.

Tremble tremble.

Isabel wasnt aware of it but her hands were shaking like an aspen tree. She was also cowering before the ferocity of Sitris hand. Damian was ashamed to see that she was trying to reassure him even in such circumstances. Damian firmed up his heart and declared, Thats right. Its okay. There is me. This zombie demon king will protect the members of the church.

Damian spoke while putting on the most handsome expression possible. He held Isabellas trembling hand tightly and pulled out the Holy Sword. A golden flash swirled and scattered the demonic power that had fallen over the area.

The Holy Father is a zombie... demon king?

Ah, no, Im going to kill that zombie-like demon king. He realized his mistake and lost momentum while trying to correct it.

In any case, believe in me.

Damian was determined to fulfill his responsibilities as the pope. Isabel and the other Rebeccas Daughters struggled to reduce the casualties despite the chaos. Damian reminded himself that he was the one who should protect them and concentrated his divine power onto the Holy Sword.

Sitris hand, which had been threatening the archangel like it was chasing a fly, suddenly turned toward Damian. Sitris hand was full of dark demonic power. For those who were faithful to their instincts, the divine power of the pope was the most disgusting thing. It was natural for Damian to be the first target of the great demon when he had the divinity of Rebecca.

H-Hajimemasite. (Nice to meet you)

The opponent was just a hand but it felt like Damian met its eyes for some reason. Damian smiled awkwardly and waved while sweating. Then Sitris hand started going on a rampage. Its fingers swept the earth and it ignored the archangel and Templar as it rushed toward Damian.

H-Hiyaaaack!

It felt like the castle was going to collapse. Damian screamed as the red hand filled his vision and he swung the Holy Sword. Then a pillar of divine gold shot up and struck Sitris palm. Sitris hand stopped moving for the first time since its arrival. The black demonic energy that it was emitting like smoke scattered like a lie and disappeared. Of course, this was only for a moment. The movement of Sitris fingers resumed, and the demonic power rose once more.

At the same time, a gunshot rang out. A green bullet penetrated Sitris palm through the gap in demonic power that hadnt been fully restored. This caused Sitris palm to shortly pause. Yuras cry permeated Damians ear, Its okay! Keep continuing like this!

H-Hai! (Yes)

The pope and the Demon Slayerthe strongest combination that didnt exist in history started to engrave wounds on the hand of the giant great demon Sitri, who was nicknamed Demon God.

***

Storm of the Fire God was Grids mental world. To be exact, it was a side effect of the Red Phoenixs mental word. However, Grid bore the Red Phoenixs 9th Heart and he made it his own. It meant that Storm of the Fire God was a world that existed because of Grid. All the concepts that existed in it were expressed in Grids mental world so it was naturally Grids possession.

However, Beleth intercepted the infinite sword energies and used it as his weapon.

How is this possible?

It didnt make sense according to common sense. Why did he lose ownership over something in his mental world? As Grid was filled with unanswered questions, he flew and narrowly escaped the flying debris of the wall. Then he swung his sword.

Beleths heel aimed at Grids chest only to be blocked by a dark blade and bounce off. Grid blocked Beleths successive attacks with the God Hands and pulled back while gritting his teeth.

Look at this. He cant touch the God Hands.

The God Hands belonged to Gridit was undeniable that they acted on their own after leaving Grid, yet Beleth didnt use the God Hands as his weapon, so why did the infinite sword energy...

...Ah!

Grids doubts were becoming deeper, only to suddenly disappear. He recalled the events of the day when he obtained the infinite sword energy.

[The power of the Absolute is flowing into the Red Phoenixs 9th Heart.]

[A new field effect, Infinite Sword Energy, has been added to Storm of the Fire God.]

The system definitely stated itthe infinite sword energy in the Storm of the Fire God was the power of the Absolute. In other words, it was the power of the first seat, Hayate, not the power of Grid. Grid was only borrowing Hayates power for a while.

I see. This was why Beleth was able to use it as a weapon. Hayate, the real owner of the infinite sword energy, isnt here...

Grid was reminded of Beleths inability to touch the flames of Storm of the Fire God.

In the end, I cant use the infinite sword energy.

So what could he use to take down such a monster? Grid was deeply troubled only for his body to gradually turn white. Finally, Lightning God triggered.

It was only possible due to the passive skill Automatic Transformation and the help of the God Hands in stopping the projectile attacks. If it wasnt for Automatic Transformation and the God Hands, he wouldnt have been able to attack and defend against Beleth dozens of times, and there was no possibility for Lightning God to trigger.

Grid, who had been passive during this battle, flooded toward Beleth with lightning. He had fully glimpsed Beleths limitations.

All of Beleths attacks are classified as physical attacks, not magic.

Beleth had never used magic before. Unless magic flew from somewhere and was used as his weapon, the only objects that Beleth could use were the fragments of the ground and the walls. This meant he couldnt hit Grid while Grid was in the Lightning God state.

....!

It was as expectedall of Beleths attacks that used the fragments of the city walls as weapons simply passed through Grids body that had turned into lightning and Grid received no damage. A flustered look appeared on Beleths face for the first time and it gave Grid joy.

Divinity.

He had to hold on for 13 minutes?

Open Potential.

No, he would kill this great demon. Transcended Linked Kill Wave Pinnacle, that was canceled in the previous battle, swallowed up Beleth. If the screaming Beleth hadnt poured out black magic power, Grid wouldve won as he predicted.

Cough...! Cough!

The Lightning God state made Grid immune to all physical attacks, but he would take twice the damage from magic attacks without any defense or resistance. Beleths black magic that shot through him was truly devastating. Once Grid collapsed, he couldnt stand up easily. Beleth slowly took a few steps to the ragged Grid who was coughing up blood.

You have a lot of talent for a human. Ronove and Dantalion wouldve suffered a crushing defeat if they had met you.

There was no more anger in Beleths expression. A human capable of destroying great demons in the 20sBeleth was very satisfied that he could put an end to the guy who might be as strong as Muller in the future. It happened the moment he pointed his finger at the heart of Grid, who was released from the Lightning God state...

...!!

The ground that Beleth stepped on suddenly disappeared. Beleth was unprepared and disappeared deep into the ground. Grid, not missing the timing and chance, laboriously stood up, then he spat out toward the very deep pit, This is why you should be careful with your feet.

A skill to change the terrainthe deceptive effect of Earth God prolonged the struggle between Grid and Beleth. Now there was only one minute remaining...

The sight of the supreme, Grid, fighting against the 13th ranked great demon, alone, brought a great thrill, and many other emotions, to the world.