“Seal!”

A voice far rougher and more menacing than usual burst from Lee Han’s mouth.

At that moment, the malicious gleam in the Heretic Knight’s eyes shifted to shock.

The authority of Prahgal it had been trying to invoke had been blocked.

-Another undead falls before me. I don’t care which petty god you wag your tail for. As long as you’re undead, your power won’t work!

Mahuda shouted as he moved Lee Han’s body. Aura flared brilliantly, the sword repeatedly absorbing and releasing it in rapid succession.

-Fascinating!

“I think you should focus.”

-Ah. Don’t worry, mage! I won’t forget the kindness you’ve shown me. I’m absolutely not lowering my guard. I’ve never been careless while hunting undead!

The Heretic Knight abandoned its self-destruction authority and drew out another power instead.

Its armor crumbled away and its form dissolved. It resembled slime, yet was closer to gas. In an instant, the Heretic Knight transformed into a mass of sticky, putrid miasma.

Mahuda, however, remained calm.

-Such a tediously common authority of the blasphemers. I’ve seen this 162 times already, and it never changes. Do you really think a trick like this will work? ...Seal!

Once again, the opponent’s authority was sealed away. The Heretic Knight reverted to its original form.

People of the Empire often mistook demons and undead for the same kind of being—dark mages especially hated that misunderstanding—but in truth, they were fundamentally different.

And generally speaking, they did not get along.

From a demon’s perspective, creatures that fed on the emotions emanating from mortal souls, the bleak undead that severed such sources entirely were naturally detestable.

And among demons, Mahuda in particular loathed undead.

Long ago, he had once been accidentally summoned and suffered an unforgettable humiliation at the hands of an undead. Since then, he had sworn upon his true name that he would hunt and humiliate undead until the end of the world.

As a result, no demon possessed more experience and knowledge in hunting undead than Mahuda.

-An unusual undead. An undead that worships an evil god?

‘It worships an evil god?’

Lee Han was startled by Mahuda’s words.

Undead were generally creatures devoid of faith. Even without going as far as the Skull Principal, their very existence stood in opposition to divinity.

Yet this thing worshipped an evil god.

What Lee Han had sensed earlier hadn’t been mistaken after all.

“Whatever the reason, this isn’t a good situation.”

An enemy that was already powerful becoming capable of borrowing the authority of an evil god was obviously troublesome.

A fusion of undead and divine power.

-Ha! Don’t worry, mage.

The demon sounded completely confident.

-As long as the opponent is undead, breaking through my sealing authority will not be easy!

“Hmm. # Nоvеlight # This may sound strange, but you’re surprisingly considerate compared to Anfursas.”

-Isn’t that only natural? Unlike Anfursas, the mage has shown me genuine kindness. Of course I should be grateful.

“...”

It seemed Anfursas had sunk deep into the bracelet and was still cursing Lee Han from within.

Lee Han recalled the irritating behavior of Anfursas, the demon of struggle and combat.

‘Ungrateful bastard.’

Wasn’t he the one who begged endlessly for a chance, then recklessly abused Lee Han’s body the moment it was lent to him and nearly got him killed?

And after all that, he still cursed behind his back instead of showing gratitude.

-Moreover, thanks to the mage, I can freely use my undead-sealing authority like this. Seal!

Unlike Anfursas, Mahuda had relatively decent social skills from spending ages hunting undead on the surface.

Lee Han had kindly lent him his body and even supplied him with abundant mana, so Mahuda naturally became friendly toward him.

Kindness tended to be repaid with kindness.

“You’re not Wardanaz. Who are you?!”

Alsicle shouted, his voice filled with wariness.

No matter how much Lee Han’s appearance had changed, the authority he had just displayed was far too alien.

-I am Mahuda. A demon summoned by the mage for the purpose of hunting undead.

“Stop spewing nonsense and bring back Wardanaz!”

Aura erupted from Alsicle as though he might attack at any moment.

It wasn’t that Alsicle failed to understand the danger of allies turning on each other while enemies remained present.

But even taking that into account, this situation was too dangerous to ignore.

A demon seizing control of someone’s body carried terrifying implications.

In the worst case, Lee Han might never return.

“I’m fine. I just lent it to him for a moment.”

“...”

When Lee Han answered so casually, Alsicle froze for a moment with his mouth hanging open.

What the hell...?

***

Look!

The battle in the sky was growing fiercer by the second.

Having openly revealed his alliance with Prahgal, the Blasphemer had begun using the evil god’s authority without restraint.

The armies of decay split off from his body received the authority of regeneration, causing both their size and numbers to multiply explosively. Even the chain-net formed by the Death Knights screamed under the strain.

-He’s not easy to deal with. His power isn’t decreasing at all!

-Is that Prahgal’s authority? Why would an evil god ally with undead?

-That doesn’t matter right now. We may need to alter our strategy!

The Death Knights exchanged words in rapid succession.

The chains binding the airspace and dimensional gate were no ordinary restraints. They were artifacts personally forged by Gonadaltes himself from meteoric iron.

That was why, despite the chaos raging overhead, the palace exterior remained eerily quiet.

Seal off the surroundings, encircle the target, and wear down his strength with siege weapons until he could be reverse-summoned.

That had been the Death Knights’ original strategy.

But the Blasphemer stubbornly continued expanding his mass despite being battered by siege weapons and torn apart by the Fierce Beast.

At this rate, if the chains finally failed and burst apart, the army would spread in every direction.

-If three more links break, we move to an offensive strategy. Even if casualties increase, we’ll have to cut off his lifeline.

-Fierce Beast! Do you possess any stronger methods of attack? We can support you!

‘Should I just kill them?’

While burning away the flesh he had bitten from the Blasphemer with his authority, the Fierce Beast inwardly seethed.

The Death Knights were speaking politely, but the implication beneath their words was unbearably arrogant.

If you’re strong, then prove it with results.

What irritated him even more was that the situation made their logic difficult to deny.

He usually mocked the Blasphemer as a bloated fool whose only talent was spreading rot and corruption, but after merging with the evil god, his power had become truly monstrous.

No matter how many forms the Fierce Beast assumed while tearing chunks from him, the Blasphemer regenerated immediately. Worse, his body only seemed to grow larger during the process.

If given enough time, the Fierce Beast could alter the very nature of the flesh with his authority, preventing regeneration entirely and dealing a decisive fatal wound.

But the Blasphemer was no fool.

Even while being overwhelmingly pressured, the countless eyes embedded throughout his body rolled constantly with sinister cunning.

The Fierce Beast could feel it clearly.

The instant he made a mistake, the monster would seize the opportunity to catch and destroy him completely.

The Blasphemer possessed slow but absurdly unfair regeneration and overwhelming destructive power.

The Fierce Beast possessed speed and dazzling versatility, but if he took even one direct hit before recovering, he could be reverse-summoned.

He could not afford mistakes.

CRASH!

As part of the already ruined palace roof shattered apart, a mage shot into the sky.

Instead of a staff, the mage held a spear.

Green mana blazed around it, sizzling through the surrounding air.

-Lord Nago!

“Die, undead!”

The green spear spun through the air.

As it flew, the surrounding space warped and was dragged into the spear itself.

The Blasphemer’s minions were unable to resist and were forcibly pulled apart. It was a vicious authority specialized solely for slaughtering undead.

‘Swordsmanship... no, spearmanship?!’

Lee Han was astonished by Mahuda’s spearmanship.

This demon was manifesting authority through disciplined martial technique.

Of course, demons using magic was nothing unusual, and there was no reason demons couldn’t learn swordsmanship or spearmanship as well.

But demonic magic fundamentally differed from human magic. A race born with innate power naturally followed an entirely different path.

And unlike magic, martial arts demanded endless discipline and training.

The fact that a demon with so many natural powers had gone out of his way to train in such arts was genuinely fascinating.

-To hunt undead on the surface, mage.

Mahuda kindly answered Lee Han’s unspoken question.

The innate powers and authorities possessed by demons were violent and overwhelming, but they also carried simplistic aspects that undead could exploit or counter.

That was why Mahuda had trained endlessly across countless ages.

For one purpose alone.

To kill undead.

-Once more!

“!”

The green spear flew once again, and the Blasphemer’s army was annihilated in an instant.

After witnessing it a second time, Lee Han realized the attack was not merely spearmanship.

It resembled a miniature world.

‘Amazing!’

He had seen master swordsmen pour aura into their weapons through sheer will and produce effects close to magic itself.

But techniques refined to the level of a miniature world were on an entirely different level.

A throwing spear created for the sole purpose of exterminating undead.

-That’s... Mahuda’s spear! How do you know Mahuda’s spearmanship?!

Several Death Knights recognized the technique and recoiled in shock.

As undead who had existed for ages themselves, they knew the legends of the demon who harbored obsessive hatred toward undead.

Yet this mysterious noble who had suddenly appeared was using an ancient spearmanship long thought lost.

Not only his magic, but even his martial skill—

His true identity was impossible to guess.

‘Amazing! To think someone like this would suddenly appear. He’d fit perfectly as an Einroguard professor!’

Stedal, who had elegantly entered the Shackle Domain, remained completely composed even amid a bloody battle between transcendents.

Only a warrior who maintained pride as a mortal regardless of the gap in power could display such calmness.

The Death Knights found themselves impressed once more.

‘He’s clearly survived countless life-and-death battles.’

Once this battle ended, they resolved to report this outstanding new mage to the Skull Principal.

Perhaps he could become a new professor at Einroguard.

And while they were at it, perhaps they could petition for the removal of a certain Professor Bur—

Die, mortal!

As the army he had summoned was wiped out in an instant, the Blasphemer’s fury turned toward Lee Han.

Unaware that the Death Knights had developed completely bizarre misconceptions, Lee Han shouted urgently.

“He’s targeting us!”

Mahuda, however, showed no concern whatsoever.

Instead, he stared directly at the Blasphemer with eyes overflowing with hatred.

-Come, undead.

Foolish. Arrogant!

‘No, you lunatic.’

Lee Han was inwardly exasperated.

Fighting was one thing, but there was absolutely no need to provoke him on top of it.

He understood Mahuda hated undead, but from Lee Han’s perspective, straying from the plan was the last thing he wanted.

-Assist Lord Nago!

“No. Stay back!”

Lee Han briefly borrowed control of his mouth to shout.

The Death Knights hesitated, but ultimately retreated without complaint.

It was the discipline of veteran knights.

The Fierce Beast also sensed something strange and instinctively kept his distance.

Only the Blasphemer charged straight forward.

“Seal!”

At the shout, the power filling the Blasphemer’s massive body weakened.

But it didn’t stop him.

Unlike ordinary minions, his authority could not be neutralized instantly.

“Throwing spear!”

The spears Mahuda had thrown until now had not even been his full strength.

Now he freely poured Lee Han’s mana and physical strength into a true spear of undead slaughter.

The Blasphemer’s body, struck head-on, failed to regenerate as before.

Yet his advance never stopped.

-Indeed, the mage was correct! This undead is far more powerful than expected. To think it would ally itself with false gods to borrow power... even I never anticipated that.

“It’s coming! Focus!”

-I know!

The Blasphemer unleashed a roar of corruption and closed the distance in an instant.

It looked ready to devour Lee Han whole regardless of spears or declarations.

And at that moment—

A torrent of thunder and lightning erupted from within the palace.

A colossal pillar of lightning stretching from earth to heaven pierced straight through the Blasphemer’s body.

Die, filthy creature. How dare you force the Thunder King to strike from the shadows!