“Black Knight. I have always wanted to compete with you.”

“Why are you here...?”

On this day, Eligos had been surprised quite a few times. Was there a history where so many legends were born at the same time and worked together? Additionally, the level of those who weren’t legends was also quite high. Something, or someone, was raising the potential of humanity.

Eligos had complicated thoughts in many ways and felt an unfamiliar sense of crisis. His mood wasn’t pleasant. At this time, Leraje appeared. It was also on the side of the humans.

“Who is it?”

There was a stir among the expedition members. Attention was focused on the unidentified demon who appeared to be the enemy of their enemy. There was no law that the enemy of an enemy was an ally, but they saw the possibility of a small break.

Only Kraugel’s expression stiffened like a stone statue. His eyes widened. He couldn’t recognize the face or name of the demon due to the hat she was wearing, but calluses were covering her small hands. Her body appeared slender at first glance, but muscles had developed delicately in certain areas. Her posture was straight and her breathing was constant. Her demonic energy wasn’t exposed and it was arranged very neatly.

Kraugel saw it instantly.

This demon had been trained. The demons he met so far only relied on their innate body and magic power, but her body and magic power were trained close to perfection. It reminded him of the absolute ruler of the East. A being who honed himself among the yangbans who were complacent with their natural power. He had trained for hundreds of years since meeting Muller and crossed the limits several times, so he was naturally much more powerful than Eligos.

That’s right. The unidentified demon resembled Mir. This meant she was highly likely to be a named being that was closely related to the worldview and a big shot among the big shots. Indeed, that arrogant Eligos was nervous. He desperately stopped Cerberus from running wild.

“Leraje, stop playing around and come this way.”

Leraje—her name was revealed by Eligos, so she took off her hat. The shiny pink skin and delicate facial features that glowed were revealed along with a shocking notification window.

[The 10th Great Demon, Supreme King Leraje, has appeared.]

“......!”

“......!”

The faces of the expedition members became exactly the same as Kraugel’s expression. They were appalled. The Supreme King—it was a ranking that was close to the single digits, but her alias was so overwhelming that they shrank back.

Leraje crossed her arms and raised her chin. She was less than 160 centimeters tall in height, but she faced Eligos on Cerberus’ back like she was looking down on him. “Eligos, you must know it very well. I, Supreme King Leraje, don’t know defeat.”

“......”

The eyes of the expedition members became wider.

Don’t know defeat.

Through the attitude of Leraje and Eligos, who didn’t deny the incredible words, they saw that Leraje was a powerhouse beyond imagination. They felt like they were witnessing the existence of another world.

Leraje’s words continued, “Oh, XX words often enter my ears. Even the Supreme King will struggle against the Black Knight? I’m familiar with the fact that they are busybodies, but it can’t be helped that my pride got hurt.”

“Certainly, I understand your displeasure.”

Eligos’ desire to be hell wasn’t out of a sense of resonance. Eligos loved hell itself. Most of the dead souls went through the 20th Hell. He didn’t want Dog’s Mouth to be guarded by an inferior demon or the prestige of hell would decline. If a qualified demon wanted to be the symbol of hell, he was willing to give up his position.

One of those qualified demons was Supreme King Leraje. A young demon born in this world—an undefeated tyrant who started from the bottom and reached the 10th ranking in hundreds of years. Her talent was real. The bestseller, ‘The Behen Archipelago Record,’ that detailed her accomplishments was recently published and turned hell’s publishing world upside down. After breaking through the trails of the Behen Archipelago at once, she defeated the death knights who were the souls and bodies of the past legends ‘bound’ by Pagma, Baal’s Contractor.

“Pitiful thing.”

The words spoken by her in a heavy voice caused even Eligos to shudder. The remarkable thing was that at the time, the ‘Light of Destruction’ and ‘Hell Regulation’ were always active throughout the Behen Archipelago. In the aftermath of Pagma forcing Alex to become a death knight, Alex’s soul suffered irreparable damage. These double boundaries were created at the expense of Alex’s soul. It was a deadly poison for the demons who invaded the Behen Archipelago at the time. The demons couldn’t exert even a tenth of their abilities.

However, Leraje wiped out the former legends in that condition. The really unfortunate thing was that there were no witnesses. At that time, only a few demons and demonic creatures who fought in the war survived. Among them, Leraje was the only demon to reach the last island. No one other than Leraje witnessed the magnificence of Leraje, who entered the last island where Pagma was waiting alone. It was a regrettable secret story.

“I recognize your bravery. After you took down Madra and reached the last island... if you hadn’t fallen to Pagma’s trap and was forced back to hell... you would’ve cut Pagma’s throat and led the war to victory...” Blackness wasn’t easily dyed. Eligos had a pure side, like the name ‘black’ that he obtained. He lavishly praised Leraje. “Such a great being like you would naturally feel unpleasant when compared to me. Yes, to be honest with you, I’m not sure I can beat you.”

“Huhuhut... You don’t have to be ashamed. It will be the same for anyone.”

“I know. I’m not ashamed at all. I won’t fight you. I have decided on this after reading your Behen Archipelago Record. However, I want to ask you one question, Leraje.”

“What is it?”

Eligos looked at the humans. Among them was the Demon Slayer who threatened hell. Leraje stood there as if she was protecting them. “Why are you trying to protect these human beings?”

Eligos’ question stirred up the expedition members. At first glance, the 10th great demon had accumulated terrifying achievements. They felt a sense of confusion rather than relief after she confirmed that she was protecting them. They couldn’t guess the reason at all so they were uneasy.

Leraje smiled, revealing her white teeth. It was a cool smile. They couldn’t see her as a demon at all. Her gaze shifted to Kraugel. “You became Sword Saint without following Muller’s path, right? Ah, you don’t have to look so surprised. A supreme ruler like me recognizes the truth seekers.”

“......”

“You don’t want to have any regrets, so you tried to test your own strength without being afraid of failure. It doesn’t matter if you fail and regret it. You are such a human being.”

Sword Saint was the strongest combat class. Kraugel had even inherited the power of one of the seven malignant saints. He was destined to leave a great mark on the world, so it was likely he would encounter strange fates no matter where he traveled. He would be rewarded with a high number of hidden quests compared to other classes.

Leraje was one of those arrangements. A being who had a deep resentment against other great demons, despite being a great demon herself. She had been constantly training to get revenge for Beriache. If the meeting between her and Kraugel was conducted on a normal path, Leraje would’ve said, ‘I’m interested in Kraugel (Sword Saint)’ and explained why she was on the side of humans.

Unfortunately, Leraje met Grid first. Grid was now the biggest figure behind her principles of action. “Look at this man, Eligos. The Sword Saint, who can never be tamed, is serving the Overgeared God. Since the Demon Slayer is a woman of the Overgeared God, all the human beings with her today are faithful to the Overgeared God.”

“......”

“......”

The expressions of the expedition members changed subtly. The Overgeared members naturally showed no aversion, Yura was secretly happy and Kraugel was calm. Scott, who had pledged loyalty to Ares, was a bit embarrassed. Of course, there was no tactless intervention. He didn’t know what was going on, but there was a sudden hope.

Three minutes had already passed since Leraje’s appearance. During that time, Eligos and Cerberus didn’t go on a rampage, so the expedition members were recovering their health. The end of the cooldown time for Yura’s Hell Gate was also approaching in real time. The minds of the expedition members couldn’t follow the development of the situation, but somehow, it was good. They weren’t stupid enough to intervene and ruin the flow.

“Hmm...” Eligos held his chin thoughtfully for a moment and nodded immediately. “Overgeared God... did the god who sneaked into Dog’s Mouth not long ago finally get his name? It was indeed impressive. I thought he was a trivial, miscellaneous god because he was still building up divinity, but he is more than I expected. From the perspective of his apostles, he seems to have already become a true god. It isn’t strange at all that he got a name.”

An archangel, hatchling, one of the seven malignant saints, and legends. To be honest, the apostles of the Overgeared God were all great. They were just very weak compared to their reputation and birth...

In retrospect, the environment at that time might’ve greatly weakened them. Eligos himself was weakened by the environment.

“So?” Eligos cocked his head. “What is the point? What is the connection between them being followers of the Overgeared God and helping them?”

In fact, he was vaguely aware of it. He just wanted to deny it.

Leraje spoke to Eligos, who was waiting for an answer in an uncomfortable mood, “It is simple. I, Supreme King Leraje, am riding on the same boat as the Overgeared God. That’s why I am helping them.”

The hypothesis he wanted to deny became reality.

“Are you serious? A great demon and a god?”

“Huhuhut... You don’t have to worry too much. The Overgeared God doesn’t have a relationship with Asgard. He isn’t dirty.”

“What sophistry is this? Don’t you know how many great demons he has slaughtered? That guy is clearly hostile to hell. It is dangerous, regardless of whether he is dirty or not.” Eligos made an absurd expression and Leraje stared at him coldly.

“Is that my business?”

“......”

Eligos realized his slip of the tongue. She had been sitting still because she wasn’t part of a faction, but Leraje must have a deep grudge against some great demons. She followed Beriache like Beriache was a parent.

Eligos sighed and nodded. “I understand. No matter what, I just need the prestige of hell to be standing upright. If you can become the symbol of hell with the help of a god, it will be better than Baal... I’ll respect you and withdraw.”

Eligos clapped his hands and he and Cerberus became covered in fog. They left the scene. The expedition members escaped the crisis in an unexpected way and sighed with relief. They quietly approached Yura and whispered, “Is a great demon really on Grid’s side?”

“How strong is she for Eligos to run away with his tail tucked in like that?”

“...Don’t think too deeply.”

Yura tried to ignore Leraje, who had her hands on her waist and looked triumphant. Leraje had helped, but it was hard to trust her. How was Leraje trustworthy when she bluffed every time she opened her mouth? Yura had seen the original Behen Archipelago Record. She was with Grid when he got the book. She didn’t want to associate with Leraje.

On the other hand, Leraje’s heart was different. She was very interested in the people associated with the Overgeared God. The Overgeared God who was chosen by Beriache’s Underclothing... he was the one who maintained her connection to Beriache.

“Demon Slayer. In the future, you should pass on my distinguished actions to Grid well.”

“...I know.”

“Let’s sign a contract.”

“What contract?”

“It is a contract that will curse you if you don’t convey my actions to Grid. I think it is better to be certain.”

“Yes...”

“I also recommend that you stay in hell. The same goes for the Sword Saint over there.”

The expedition members who were peeping at Leraje started carefully listening. Kraugel nodded lightly. Meanwhile, Yura looked worried. The two of them seemed to have grasped Leraje’s intention without listening to the reason.

However, Vantner couldn’t understand it. Thus, he gathered his courage and asked directly, “Why do you want them to stay?”

“The demons have learned their lesson from the last war and opened the path in a very ignorant way. Zepar’s sword cut at the boundaries of the worlds to keep the demons from weakening as much as possible during the invasion of the ground.”

“The boundaries of the worlds...?”

“Of course, this is only temporary. It will be restored in 33 days. During that time, hell is vulnerable.” Leraje flapped her cloak with magic power. She stood with her arms folded beautifully. Tens of thousands of demonkin appeared on the horizon behind her. “Shouldn’t someone counterattack? It is the time of punishment.”