When Gusion moved his fingers, “Mammon’s magical power” that had formed on the fake body of Gnoll Chieftain penetrated into Catalina’s body. Although the efficiency of absorbing the essence of an ordinary demon, not the Demon King, was very poor, Catalina was a little different.
As a subordinate demon of the King of Greed, Yong-ho, she could use the magic power of greed through Brigada even if she could do it in a small way.
But greed helped her absorb more magic power. It allowed her to take more magic power than usual.
Moreover, what Yong-ho chose was the extraordinary evolution of magic power. Thanks to this, Catalina’s magic power increased significantly at once. This was more than what Yong-ho expected.
“Sooner or later, she will get a fourth horn,” said Gusion, glancing over Catalina.
Yong-ho, who thought she was praiseworthy, unwittingly pinched her soft cheeks then turned to Gusion. While pointing to one of the boxes of light floating in the air, he said, “Do you mind if I choose the reward?”
“Yeah, take them all!”
With any delay, Yong-ho took Gusion’s words into action. A red belt emerged from the box of light he selected, guided by greed.
“It’s a belt of strength. It is a simple artifact that increases your strength when you wear it. I guess it will be good to make up for the lack of your escort girl’s muscle strength.”
“Isn’t it too big for Catalina to wear?”
“You told me that one of your subordinate demons was a craftsman. Ask him to drill a few more holes.”
Yong-ho wondered if it was okay to deal with it harshly, given it was an artifact, not just a belt, but he nodded. After putting it away in good order, Yong-ho carefully held Catalina, who passed out on the floor.
Gusion said again, “What do you think? Why don’t you use your newly gained momentum to challenge the 9th floor?”
It was a pretty attractive offer. Since he experienced Mammon’s magic power, Yong-ho was also moved by Gusion’s suggestion to some extent.
However, Yong-ho shook his head and replied with a bitter smile, “I’m sorry, but I have an appointment now.”
Yong-ho knew that the level of difficulty would increase once he moved up to a higher floor. He could get stronger if he challenged the ninth floor, but there was no guarantee that he could win unconditionally. So, he thought that it was better to maintain his best condition at the moment.
Gusion sensed it in no time. He called the man with a beast mask to guide Yong-ho.
***
On the morning of the fifth day after he got the second reply from the House of Randolt, Yong-ho looked far away, standing in the wilderness.
Behind him were Catalina, Skull, and Ophelia, with the fluttering flags of Skull’s seven units equipped with their own weapons.
Although Yong-ho arrived a little earlier than the appointment time, he didn’t need to wait long.
He saw a group of people approaching him from far away.
They were Tigrius Randolt, head of the House of Randolt, and his men.
Yong-ho and Tigrius decided on the location and time of their duel.
What Yong-ho chose was a remote place in the wilderness located between the Houses of Mammon and Randolt. The place was located at a certain distance from both houses, and it was difficult for each side to prepare an ambush or trap because all directions were open.
Besides, it was also an advantage that there were no outsiders to watch the duel. Both agreed to bring only ten people on both sides. The number of their subordinates was just right, not too small or big.
“I’m Tigrius Randolt, the head of the House of Randolt.”
An old man, who lightly descended from the back of a giant lizard reminiscent of a dinosaur, introduced himself. His voice was deep and sonorous.
Yong-ho already recognized who he was, even his portrait, through Ophelia.
But he felt differently when faced with Tigrius like this. Tigrius was an old man who looked much stronger and tougher than him in the portrait.
He was tall and thin. His neatly arranged hair and beard were almost gray. His gray eyes glared sharply.
It was exactly what Yong-ho felt in his writing style of the reply.
Tigrius was elegant. Yong-ho felt as if he met an English gentleman, a real nobleman.
Behind Tigrius, in a black suit, stood his subordinate demons dressed in neat clothes as well.
They were made up of several races, and even Orcs were dressed in neat suits.
Yong-ho also got off Salami. Facing Tigrius, he introduced himself.
“I’m Yong-ho Chun, the head of the House of Mammon.”
Tigrius narrowed his eyes at the name Yong-ho Chun. Yong-ho had never hidden his name for any reason, nor had he advertised his name. Most of the demons living in the Free City also remembered Yong-ho only as “the Mamon House head” or “The Demon King of Flames,” but they did not know his name.
Yong-ho Chun.
It was a heterogeneous name even in the demon world where all kinds of races were mixed.
At least it was enough to believe that he didn’t come from the pure family lineage of the House of Mammon.
But Tigrius didn’t care about Yong-ho’s name. He hit the ground with a large cane instead of a sword or a spear. The metal cane, which seemed to have no shortcomings as a weapon, had a woman with wings against the moon carved at the end of its corner. Rather than a simple decoration, it seemed like a strange object with magical meaning.
“Since we’ve already confirmed each other’s will in the letters, we don’t need to drag it long. This is the ‘contract’ we talked about in advance. I have already signed it, so you sign it, too.”
Having said that, Tigrius hit the ground with the cane, which formed a blood-red character in the air.
Like the letters Tigrius sent so far, the contract contained only the essential contents.
Before signing it right away, Yong-ho turned to Ophelia briefly. She confirmed with a look that the contract was correct.
As the name suggested, the contract was an artifact for the contract.
Completed by both signing the contract, this magical tool could exert a powerful deterrent.
Since the magic itself was supposed to be used by the two who signed the contract, the difference in their magic power was meaningless. Just because any one of the two had a stronger magic power, he could not ignore the contents of the contract or resist its deterrence.
The contract signed by the two had absolute binding power.
And that was why it was extremely difficult to find such a contract in the demon world. Ironically, its absoluteness and honesty turned lots of people off.
Before signing it, Yong-ho read the contents of the contract one more time.
There was no room for any cunning play on words because only simple and clear facts were on the contract.
‘The loser of the duel becomes the winner’s subordinate.’
It was not an exaggeration to say that the contract contained only that phrase.
Yong-ho moved his fingers in the air to sign it. The letters of red light were united in the air and lighted up, and soon, they were split into two and flew to Yong-ho and Tigrius respectively.
A complex red pattern was engraved on the back of their hands. It was a sign of the contract.
Tigrius said again, “We don’t have to talk any longer. I hope we can have a duel right away.”
Rumors that Tigrius was timid were wrong. He was the most impressive of those family heads that Yong-ho had met until now. He was also different from Foras that gave out an animal-like murderous aura. He gave out an elegant, not murderous atmosphere.
‘He’s a real nobleman.’
After murmuring a bit, Yong-ho nodded. He erased any lingering suspicion of Tigrius’s trap or plot from his mind.
It was a fair duel. It was like a fight in the arena.
Yong-ho grabbed the red flames that bloomed in the air. He also injected magical energy into the magic magnet on his left hand, covering it with silver metal.
Yong-ho had no intention of dealing with him lightly. Tigrius didn’t come here to lose.
He opened the four horns at once to project magic energy fully.
The surrounding area was shaken when a new force was applied to the flow of the magical energy that filled the sky and the earth.
Yong-ho’s magic power was more than rumored. Tigrius’s face was full of tension.
But he was not moved yet. He also opened the horns without backing down. Three horns protruded from Tigrius’s forehead at the same time.
Tigrius did not face Yong-ho’s magic directly. He gently dissipated magic energy and stepped forward slowly.
“Let’s start the duel now,” Tigrius said. Yong-ho accepted it.
And at some point, the two disappeared at the same time.
***
Yong-ho’s movement resembled that of Catalina. He did not depend solely on his physical performance like he did until now. Magic power helped his movement, resulting in an explosive instantaneous speed.
When Tigrius disappeared in front of him, Yong-ho looked at the left and right instinctively.
When Yong-ho was fighting demons in the arena, he saw one fleeing at a tremendous speed, so much so that even his eyes could not catch it. But even so, it was fast in the end. It was necessary to move from the point of departure to the destination.
He didn’t care if it was his afterimages. Any clue that could help him find out Tigrius’s course was enough.
Only
But he could see nothing. Tigrius disappeared before my eyes.
Yong-ho’s feet, who kicked the ground to rush forward, touched it again. During that short moment when he couldn’t even swallow, he acted instinctively. Ophelia’s screaming was heard behind his back.
“Blink!”
When he heard her voice. Yong-ho already turned around. His opponent disappeared in front of him. If so, where could he appear again? In front of him again? No. He would most likely appear from the side or in the rear. And there’s one more thing Yong-ho couldn’t explain. It was probably something he had learned from Aamon while sparring with him dozens or hundreds of times. Maybe the experience he had accumulated so far was the answer.
But it didn’t matter. Yong-ho instinctively turned around. By doing so, he could face Tigrius again, who disappeared in front of him by using the magic of a short-range jump.
Yong-ho’s inversion was clearly faster than he expected.
But Tigrius didn’t feel embarrassed, for Yong-ho had almost twice as much magic power as himself. So, no matter what Yong-ho did, he didn’t feel it was strange. From his position as a “challenger,” Tigrius simply did his best to do what he could.
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