In Satisfy’s history, Old Sword Demon was a very interesting figure. First of all, he was a mystery because there was no record of his assassinations. The nature of an assassin’s class was to build up ‘assassination achievements’, raising their fame and gaining additional abilities. It meant that having an assassination record was more beneficial for them. Yet there was no record of Old Sword Demon’s assassinations. In order to be a perfect killer, he gave up his reputation and didn’t publish his assassination record, but he was still first in the rankings.

There had been a rumor in the world. “Old Sword Demon might not know that he was transferred to the assassin class.”

It was ridiculous considering how his ID was ‘sword demon,’ which was because of his skill in combat and use of a long sword as his main weapon. The assassin’s signature mastery skill was with daggers, but Old Sword Demon used a long sword and enjoyed a fair match instead of attacking in the darkness. This gave rise to the joke that he should be a swordsman. Therefore, the new generation often knew Old Sword Demon as a ‘good swordsman’.

“Old Sword Demon...”

Grid’s eyes were shining as he watched Old Sword Demon. Grid recognized Old Sword Demon as a special being, just as many people admired and honored the current Grid. It was from the days when Grid was still obscure. In a time when he was envious of good-looking people and felt a sense of inferiority, he had a subtle affinity for Old Sword Demon’s ID. It was an ID that would make people doubt the person’s nature as long as it was in Korean characters. Back in the days when Grid was dissatisfied with society, he thought it was a good ID. He felt that Old Sword Demon was swearing at the world on his behalf.

‘I was young at that time.’

How twisted had he been? Grid smiled at the absurdity of his past self and concentrated on observing Old Sword Demon.

In the past, Grid couldn’t accurately measure the skills of Old Sword Demon. Grid’s level itself had been low, so he hadn’t been able to feel any inspiration after seeing the skills of Old Sword Demon, who had been the best at the time. He had just vaguely thought that this person was great. Now it was different. Grid had become stronger through repeated life and death battles with powerful enemies and was now at the highest level in the world.

Old Sword Demon’s long sword tilted at an angle. Then an amazing sight unfolded. The short spear that was entangled around Old Sword Demon’s sword couldn’t handle the force and was thrown out. The sharp spear was thrown in the direction of Maru. The same short spear that Maru had thrown ended up attacking him.

‘He is very skilled at using his wrist.’

It was almost like an attack from Kraugel, but the power was a bit weaker. If it had been Kraugel instead of Old Sword Demon, the spear rushing at Maru would’ve been 1.2 times faster. If it were Grid, the spear would have flown twice as fast, but unfortunately, Grid didn’t have this much technique.

“Bah!” Maru snorted and appeared in front of Old Sword Demon. He swung his feet while simultaneously hitting Old Sword Demon’s abdomen with his shoulder.

Three prerequisites were needed for Old Sword Demon to be able to respond to this. He had to understand the Shunpo skill, predict the timing at which Maru used it, and have at least 2,500 agility. Old Sword Demon met all three conditions. The moment he was hit in the abdomen, he responded immediately by tilting his upper body back, avoiding Maru’s kick. He even hit back.

Old Sword Demon’s sword brushed past Maru’s hair, creating a strong wind pressure. Maru recovered his feet, exposed his back to Old Sword Demon, and leaned back like he was leaning into Old Sword Demon’s arms. Then he grabbed Old Sword Demon’s neck with his arms, and it seemed as if Old Sword Demon’s neck would be broken like this.

It was really the worst position. Maru’s technique was reminiscent of Bubat’s, and Old Sword Demon looked like he was in a very disadvantageous position. It was fair to say that the harmony between Shunpo and Maru, who became stronger the closer he was to the target, was the best.

‘He can’t do it either.’

Grid hurriedly tried to use Shunpo.

[Shunpo has failed to trigger.]

‘Damn!’

It seemed that Old Sword Demon’s neck would be broken. Grid felt a chill down his spine and was about to launch Magic Missile. Then there was a small explosion, and Old Sword Demon’s body was covered in smoke before disappearing. Maru’s hands were floundering in the air instead of grasping Old Sword Demon’s neck.

“...?!”

“...?!”

Both Grid and Bondre, who were watching the battle, were full of doubts. Maru looked around. Just then, the disappeared Old Sword Demon reappeared in his original position. His neck was clearly marked with red handprints. That’s right. Old Sword Demon hadn’t left Maru’s grasp. He had just completely concealed his presence from the world for a while. In fact, his neck had still been in Maru’s hands, but Maru was simply unaware of this fact. If Maru hadn’t immediately released his grip, then Old Sword Demon would’ve died of a broken neck.

Maru started a fierce exchange with Old Sword Demon’s sword.

“Spit.”

“...!”

“Spit spit!”

Old Sword Demon avoided and blocked Maru’s attacks and kept spitting. It wasn’t a technique developed from spitting only once or twice. His saliva precisely struck Maru’s pupils, so Maru had to be conscious of it. Thanks to this, the almost collapsed Old Sword Demon was able to shake Maru off.

“.....”

“.....”

Grid’s and Bondre’s eyes shook even more as they watched the confrontation between Old Sword Demon and Maru. Both of them were shocked by Old Sword Demon’s dirty combat style. The good news was that the other high rankers weren’t watching the battle between Old Sword Demon and Maru. The high rankers, who were scattered throughout the battlefield, were busy fighting the yangbans.

Maru frowned as he wiped the sputum off his cheeks and criticized Old Sword Demon. “Don’t you have any pride?”

“You yangbans treat humans as bugs but ask us to uphold our pride every time. Even humans won’t discuss the pride of an animal below them. How cowardly are you that you would talk about the pride of trivial bugs?”

“You... human...”

“Old Sword Demon.”

“...?”

“That is my name.”

“.....”

Grid was convinced that Old Sword Demon was another Huroi. His solemn expression and tone of speech when insulting a target was similar.

‘No... Don’t tell me?’

Grid tried to deny it as he recalled Old Sword Demon’s gentlemanly greeting, but he was undoubtedly certain of another fact.

‘The yangbans have weakened.’

This was something he had felt when he engaged in combat with the three yangbans, including Dodam. Be it in attack power, defense, health, and speed, all the yangbans he met in Chiaotzu were clearly inferior to the yangbans that Grid had previously encountered. Maru, who had a presence equivalent to Garam, was no exception.

‘Are the yangbans in the Cho Kingdom exceptionally good?’

It was easy for Grid to expand on this idea. He recalled the resurrection of the red phoenix.

‘The yangbans are people who have strengthened their abilities by absorbing the breaths or hearts of the Four Auspicious Beasts.’

As a representative example, the Red Phoenix’s Breath gave great destructive power and recovery ability to the yangbans. However, the red phoenix had resurrected, and the yangbans were now unable to properly control the Red Phoenix’s Breath.

‘The red phoenix has started to exercise control over the breaths that have been stolen by the yangbans.’

It was clear that the stats and skills of the yangbans who lost a single breath had dropped significantly compared to the previous yangbans. Indeed, it was correct to judge it like this. In other words—

‘There is hope as long as I join forces with Old Sword Demon.’

After taking potions, Grid turned away from Old Sword Demon and Maru, who had started exchanging blows again. He looked at the high rankers struggling against the yangbans on the battlefield and asked Bondre, “Have you recovered somewhat?”

“Yes. The performance of the potion you gave is tremendous.”

“Good. Let’s take care of the other yangbans while Old Sword Demon is holding up Maru. I’ll ask for some assistance.”

Bondre told Grid, “My quest is finished.”

“...?”

“My quest was cleared when the man called Hwang Gildong seized the Black Tortoise Jewel from the yangbans.”

“...??”

“I was surprised too. In any case, I don’t have a reason to fight anymore.”

“.....”

Was it the same with the others? Bondre smiled at Grid, who was anxious that he might have to fight alone. “However, if you ask me to help, I can help.”

As a proud Frenchman—no, he shouldn’t use this expression because it was full of prejudice. After all, it was just a disgusting smile. Bondre smiled in a disgusting manner and urged, “Now Grid. Please ask once. Ask me for help.”

He was looking forward to seeing Grid’s crying face, but Grid easily bowed his head without changing his expression. “Help me.”

“...?”

“The strongest ice magician in the rankings, please help me.”

“...Shit.”

It was so easy for Grid to bow his head.

‘It isn’t even necessary for him to take pride in himself...’

Bondre alone seemed to have been conscious of their relationship. The enlightened and discouraged Bondre grumbled and stood beside Grid. Bondre cleared the quest and recovered from the levels he lost. He was two levels higher, so his magic power had become more powerful than before. “I owe you one. If I don’t pay you back, then my dreams will be terrible. So I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. Your personality has become better since being with Ares.”

“Shut up. I am Bondre. I’m not affected by anyone. Entering Valhalla was just a momentary diversion.”

“Contact me if your mood changes. The Overgeared Kingdom will welcome people like you at any time.”

“Do you still want to talk nonsense?”

Bondre spread webs of ice all over the place. Grid admired it. It was because all the webs created by Bondre exquisitely interfered with the mobility of the yangbans. The yangbans had been seriously injured by Grid and then had to fight the high rankers without a break. They couldn’t overcome the irritation surging in their hearts and broke the webs. Among them, one yangban who cut the web became Grid’s target. “Transcended Link Flower.”

“...!”

It was just for a moment. The yangban was distracted by the ice web and revealed a gap. Yet Grid precisely dug through that gap. The frightened yangban desperately tried to avoid the blue-black petals, but it was useless. It was because Bubat had grabbed his collar and dropped him. The dopo fluttered. The yangban’s unnecessarily loose clothes were a fatal weakness against Bubat.

“You...! Let go!”

“Transcended Link Flower Pinnacle.”

“Kuaaaaak!”

Thanks to the active cooperation of Bondre and Bubat, Grid started to dominate the battlefield. They traveled over the battlefield, and the injured yangbans were smashed one by one.

“Ohhhhh!”

This was the moment when the morale of the high rankers soared into the sky. Then a man fell between Grid and the high rankers. It was a ragged Old Sword Demon.

“O-Old Sword Demon!”

The high rankers had forgotten about Old Sword Demon as they concentrated on the yangbans, so they supported him belatedly. Old Sword Demon’s red cheeks were swollen, and he spat out blood as he glared at the high rankers. “Cough, cough. Neglecting someone who came to help you...”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Ugh... Bad people...”

“.....”

The force with which Old Sword Demon first appeared was nowhere to be seen. However, Grid and the rankers fully understood his attitude. Having been left unattended for 10 minutes, Old Sword Demon was angry because he had to deal with Maru alone.

Step. Step. Step… Maru was approaching. He looked fine, unlike Old Sword Demon who seemed like he was about to die. There was just no calm expression to be found on him. Maru had lost the Black Tortoise Jewel, gotten tied up by a human for 10 minutes, and lost all his siblings, so he was in a terrible mood.

“Chiyou... If it wasn’t for Chiyou, I wouldn’t need to go through all of this... It is the first time I’ve felt this type of anger.”

Once he heard that Garam had been killed by his target, he had expected a tough fight. As the days passed by, he felt a weakening of control over the Red Phoenix’s Breath and was anxious. However, he believed he would eventually win. He had 20 siblings around him. They were even all candidates for the new seats available in the Seven. At this level of power, he was confident that he could handle two or three archangels. He never imagined that he would suffer a crushing defeat to humans.

‘That silver-haired demonkin was the problem.’

How many siblings had he harmed by himself? Maru took off the dopo that he was wearing roughly. He was conscious of Bubat and felt it was better to give up his defense than get caught like his siblings. It was a possible judgment because Maru was convinced humans wouldn’t be able to handle a body that would soon become a god's.

“I will trample on you one by one, killing you thoroughly before grabbing the neck of Hwang Gildong.”

“Ohh!” Old Sword Demon smiled and looked bright. “I’ll cheer you on! Grab the neck of Hwang Gildong!”

“...?”

The more they knew, the more Old Sword Demon’s character was broken. Grid stared at him. Old Sword Demon felt the gaze and explained, “Please understand. That guy Hwang Gildong is really rude. Furthermore...”

Old Sword Demon looked at the state of the high rankers. The numbers remaining were half the original and most of the survivors were seriously injured. Bubat’s thick legs, which had been at the heart of the battle, were shaking while Bondre’s face was pale. Bubat was about to run out of stamina, and Bondre was running out of magic power. Grid was fine, but it was absolutely impossible for him to fight Maru and win.

Old Sword Demon had fought Maru for 10 minutes and felt that this person’s defense was amazing. Even Overgeared King Grid would find it hard to damage Maru’s body which was harder than steel.

“Since we are all going to die anyway... I hope that he will grab Hwang Gildong’s neck and make Hwang Gildong a companion for us down the path to the Underworld. Understand my feelings.”

“Then why did you help us?”

“I was lost because Hwang Gildong abandoned me and disappeared alone. Then I found you and joined because it was better off joining than being alone. Yet it is ruined. Shit.”

“.....”

Grid and the high rankers made awkward expressions and tried to ignore Old Sword Demon. They fixed their eyes on Maru. Maru started to operate the three breaths of the blue dragon, white tiger, and black tortoise simultaneously. The pressure around him was on a different dimension from before. Heavy rain and lightning struck the ground.

“Can you win?” Bondre asked suddenly. He saw that Maru’s power easily transcended the other yangbans, but he still had hope. It was because the man standing beside him was none other than Grid.

Bondre gazed at Grid with expectant eyes, but Old Sword Demon dealt reality to him. “Don’t put too much pressure on the supreme one. This time, the opponent is too tough. Rather than fighting, it would be wiser to find a way to live.”

The space seemed to be torn apart as Maru flew and aimed his fist at Grid. A wild storm shook Grid’s vision. The turbulent land broke Grid’s posture, and lightning penetrated Grid’s entire body. Maru only swung his fist once. However, the added effects drove Mother Nature, and it was like Heaven was beating Grid.

‘It’s ruined.’

Bubat, Bondre, and the other high rankers had a gut feeling.

‘Hwang Gildong, that damn human.’

It happened as Old Sword Demon was clicking his tongue. Maru’s fist that had just reached Grid’s nose stopped and hardened like stone.

“...!”

It wasn’t just Maru who had become a statue. Even the high rankers standing with Grid were all turned to stone. They couldn’t even move a finger. In this world that had stopped—

“Item Combination.”

How high was his resistance to lightning? Despite being continuously struck by lightning, Grid continued combining two swords into one. The God Hands each pulled out a Mjolnir and circled around Maru, preparing to hit him.

“Request to Stand With Me.”

Grid raised his sword high. His heart’s desire was simple. It was to crush the enemy in front of him. The strong waves of pure energy dispersed the heavy rain and lightning in the area. A huge shadow was cast from the open sky. “Pounding Mortar.”