Hulan, whom I believed in, was unexpectedly taken down by an exploited weakness.
It wasn’t like there were no earnings at all.
After all, Satan showed signs of extreme fatigue after recovering the half of his head that had flown away.
Now that Hulan was down, I was the only one left.
Seriously, there was no one else who could step up besides me.
‘One more time… yeah, just one more time to surpass my limits.’
How could I defeat Satan? I already had all the methods figured out.
But the one that had the highest possibility just failed, leaving me with much harder options.
[It looks like you’re the only one left.]
For a moment of contemplation, Satan began to unleash his powers at the last remaining me.
“Give me a moment to think!”
[Seems like you’re not in a position to say that after launching a surprise attack out of nowhere.]
I started dodging Satan’s powers using space manipulation.
Having watched him use his powers while fighting other beings, dodging was no longer difficult.
Generally, when facing a fast enemy, one would avoid creating space by launching wide-area attacks or striking at optimal positions simultaneously, but that meant nothing before space manipulation.
Did he really think he could predict where I would end up after moving?
The unproductive back and forth between the Master, unable to deal proper damage without an Aura Blade, and the Great Demon, who couldn’t land a single hit, continued.
‘This isn’t going well…!’
While attempting to dodge, my fingers danced in the air, and although I wasn’t grazed by Satan’s powers, a cold sweat trickled down.
I kept trying, but things weren’t going smoothly.
[Are you just going to keep running away?]
Realizing that all of it was meaningless, Satan stopped his attacks and stared at me intently.
And then he turned his back completely.
[Well, that settles it. I’ll end it here. After all, without a sword, you wouldn’t be able to do a thing even if I came around you.]
It hit me right in the gut.
‘You’ve become more perceptive.’
As he said, the only thing I could do was dodge Satan’s attacks and buy time.
Though I was trying to practice a decisive move the whole time, it still wasn’t going well.
I couldn’t let Satan leave for another area; it would be a disaster. So, I thought of a way to scrape up my pride a little.
“Running away, are we? The Great Demon unable to kill a single human, and leaving? Everyone would laugh!”
[Wasn’t it you who kept running away? Feel free to talk all you want. I can’t postpone my grand task just because I can’t catch a fly.]
Satan seemed ready to ignore me completely and was about to disappear somewhere while cloaked in magic energy.
He showed signs of wanting to use a space transfer unique to demons, not teleportation.
[From now on, I’ll be heading to the Academy.]
Before moving, Satan spoke as if for me to hear.
[Let’s see how well your precious barrier, which you boast about, can withstand my Power of Destruction as I go outside the barrier. I’m curious about that.]
Satan’s power is the ability to destroy everything below a certain level upon contact.
At his current state, the barrier woven with magic below the 8th circle, complicated as it may be, would disappear in an instant.
My heart raced.
For a brief moment, I envisioned the Academy as Satan described it.
The buildings looked like they had been gnawed away by rats, and countless people would die without their corpses even being left behind.
And among those corpses, surely there would be many loved ones of mine.
They wouldn’t just run away trying to preserve their own lives while leaving the Academy students behind.
“Unbelievable…!!”
With my back turned, I started sprinting towards Satan, who was trying to vanish under the magical energy.
I couldn’t let him reach the Academy.
Following him would be easy, but if I faced off against that being, who casually unleashed power in every direction, casualties were bound to happen.
That’s why I had to take down Satan right here.
No more practice.
Now, it was time to do it for real.
[You’ve stepped into the snare.]
To Satan, I must have looked like I was dashing blindly, and he grinned as he used the most extensive power he had employed so far.
I could’ve simply dodged it using space manipulation like before.
But this time, I didn’t dodge.
I raised my left hand as if miming, erecting an invisible wall in the air.
If what I had done to Hulan just moments ago succeeded, then this would too.
If I failed, my body would be shattered by the Power of Destruction.
Having witnessed it several times, I understood better than anyone how it would go down.
Chills ran down my spine, but to defeat Satan, I had to ensure this succeeded.
It was a life-or-death gamble.
If I couldn’t succeed now, there wouldn’t be a next time.
In situations where one’s life is at stake, talents bloom.
I did not take my eyes off the Power of Destruction closing in.
-Passt!
“Got… it!”
I heard a deflating sound right in front of me.
Satan’s power got blocked.
The gamble succeeded.
[What?!]
Satan’s expression turned to one of horror.
I had been solely avoiding his powers up until now.
It must have been shocking for him to suddenly see me block his ability, which he must have thought could only be avoided.
The principle was simple.
It was about applying the rules that had previously only applied to me to other targets as well.
I granted Hulan the ability to step into the air like I could, and now it was the next step.
“Here it goes… one more time!!!”
I grasped the air.
The space transformed into the shape I desired, and it felt tangible in my grasp.
As if I could always step onto my ideal platform, a sword materialized in the air in the form I wanted.
I had never been able to move it after grabbing hold of it before.
I knew this absurdity sounded ridiculous.
Having lost my blade, now I was picking up a non-existent sword that wouldn’t be destroyed by powers—what a ludicrous notion.
Even now, the sword’s hilt remained frozen in its place, as if anchored in the air.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on common sense.
The Master’s laws twist the rules set by the world.
As you go through life, everyone encounters walls.
Whether through studying, mastering the sword, or learning magic, everyone faces walls where they reach a certain level and feel like they can’t go any further.
If you can’t jump over that wall, you won’t grow beyond it, but overcoming any wall leads to growth.
You gradually become capable of more, and your perspective of the world expands.
And when you finally break through the ultimate wall, an entirely new world will appear before your eyes.
A completely free world, devoid of any walls blocking you.
The Master is someone who has transcended all barriers.
As long as I know the direction I should head, I can accomplish anything.
I was not facing a blocking wall.
I simply hadn’t found the path I needed to take yet.
The one who determines the path is me.
I changed my thinking.
Instead of pulling out a non-existent sword that had never existed, I should pull out the single sword that was quietly resting in my heart.
Anyone who wields a sword carries one in their heart.
A sword representing their steadfast convictions.
The sword I had carried in my heart from the moment I began training.
The one sword that represented my life.
A long sword, 150 in length.
Then the intangible sword, the Heart Sword, was pulled out.
As the brilliant light layered over the Heart Sword, which others could not see, everyone was able to witness it.
[Where did you hide another weapon?!]
In an instant, as blinding light filled the sky, Satan was horrified and unleashed his powers against me.
There was no way to block Satan’s powers while holding the sword with both hands.
But without any hesitation, I swung down the sword, which undeniably existed in my hands.
-Kooowwww
Right before Satan’s powers were severed, they touched the essence of the sword within my aura.
But while the Heart Sword existed, it could not be destroyed.
[Hah…]
Satan stared in shock at the Aura Blade, which sliced through his powers without being broken.
[This future was not meant to happen.]
The brilliant light engulfed Satan’s body.
———————-
The capital of the Empire, where countless demons had crawled out, was incredibly peaceful.
In fact, only the capital was peaceful.
Outside the capital, numerous demons lay piled like a mountain, each with gaping holes in their bodies or brutally slashed.
It was the work of just two Masters.
“So, where’s the magician?!”
“Hah… I can’t send you anywhere if I don’t know where they are, no matter how much you push!”
“No way! With such a huge hole, there’s no way you wouldn’t know!”
The two Masters of the Empire, who easily suppressed the endless tides of demons as if trampling upon ants, stood atop the pile of demon corpses, bickering with each other.
Though it was mostly one-sided shouting from Wendy, the younger sibling.
“Seriously, you worry about me…?! If I see you again, I swear I’ll teach you a lesson, so hurry up and call a magician! There are plenty who can teleport!”
She was extremely angry at her disciple, who had abandoned her in the capital.
Given that massive numbers of demons were pressing on them, they had all been wiped out, but she was still furious.
So, she quickly swept away all the demons and had been waiting at the gate of hell, killing every one that appeared, and it had been a few minutes since there had been any more.
“So… huh?”
“What’s wrong? Did a demon pop out?”
“Wanna take a look behind you?”
When Linda urged suddenly to look behind, I turned and was met with a shocking guest.
“…I… I’m so sorry.”
Atlas, carrying the critically wounded Hulan, was sneaking away while avoiding Wendy’s gaze.