[Phenex!]
[What the…?]
Malphas and Halphas were lost for words.
Phenex's body was twitching after the head exploded.
They couldn't believe what they'd just seen.
[Phenex, are you joking right now? You seriously almost lost against a human?] Halphas asked with an anger-filled voice.
Even if it was because he'd relaxed, the fact he almost lost against Gaia's servant didn't change.
It was something humiliating for them as followers of the Evil God, Lucifer.
The fact that the enemy was Gaia's servant was just an excuse. Because, after all, they were servants of the Evil God, Lucifer.
Not only that, but Gaia wasn't able to properly manage her system because she was half dead.
It made no sense that they would lose against a servant of a half-dead god.
[Phenex! Get up and stop joking! This isn't the time to do things like that!]
Malphas also thought the same thing as Halphas.
Demons were superior to humans from birth.
It was as if a tiger had lost consciousness after being hit by a cat, so there was no way they would be able to accept reality.
[Phenex?]
But they didn't get an answer.
Phenex wasn't even moving after being hit by a human that had appeared out of nowhere.
[Phenex! I told you that this isn't the time to joke around!]
Malphas frowned and approached Phenex.
"Hey…"
The human who had stepped on Phenex turned around.
"I told you to shut up."
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon's status.
He hadn't been completely healed, but he wasn't in danger anymore.
Considering Kim ShiHoon's healing abilities, he would probably heal himself if left alone.
"Hyeongnim..."
"Sleep. I'm going to tell you the rest later on."
KangWoo put Kim ShiHoon's body down on the floor.
His power over his familiar spirit activated, and Kim ShiHoon closed his eyes.
He heard him breathing normally.
"Haa…"
He sighed in relief.
He felt better than when he'd seen an almost-dead Kim ShiHoon.
He took a deep breath.
Even if he was feeling relieved, he couldn't fully control the demonic energy that was moving around his body.
A desire to fight rose inside him.
'Calm down,' he told himself.
He covered his face with his hands.
He slowly opened his eyes and once again saw the demons who'd made Kim ShiHoon like that.
His head was burning with a cold fire.
"Damn!"
He couldn't help but curse.
Numerous thoughts crossed his mind, and his emotions intertwined. The one in the middle of it all was Kim ShiHoon.
"You bastard!!"
He clenched his teeth. It was the first time he had felt that way since he’d returned to Earth.
He hadn't felt something like that since Balrog had turned into dust and disappeared after losing to Archduke Mamon.
'Yes…'
It wasn't that he was angry.
He just felt annoyed at the situation.
He was so annoyed that he couldn't handle it.
'Then…'
He looked at the demons that were approaching him.
There was only one way to get rid of that annoying feeling.
[Hmm?]
Malphas, who was approaching KangWoo, frowned.
He looked into KangWoo’s eyes.
He couldn't see his face because he was wearing a mask, but he could see the eyes behind it.
'A demon...?'
Black eyes with yellow pupils…
It was a characteristic most demons had.
There were some cases where they had white eyes that transformed only when they became angry.
'He said Satan is like this.'
The Archduke of Anger, Satan.
He heard from Lucifer that he usually had white eyes that turned black when a fight began.
He told them to escape if they faced Satan and his eyes were black.
'Don't tell me… Is he Satan?'
Malphas shook his head. There was no way that was true.
Besides Satan, there were also other demons with those characteristics.
It was just that the amount was low.
[Hmm.]
But anyway, it was hard to think of him as a human.
Leaving the yellow pupils aside, he had never seen a human with black eyes.
[You… Are you really a human?]
There was no answer.
Malphas clicked his tongue. If there were no answer, he would forcibly make him speak.
He extended his right arm; dozens of black spheres appeared.
"..."
KangWoo silently looked at Malphas.
He slowly began to walk.
Dozens of black spheres flew toward him.
Tap-
He bounced his finger, and a wave of demonic energy spread and deflected the black spheres away.
Malphas was astonished by what he saw.
KangWoo took a step forward, and demonic energy rose from his body.
Demonic energy started to gather around his heart.
A passage that connected to the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Core formed.
A huge amount of demonic energy began blowing through his body.
[Wh-what the…?]
KangWoo took a step forward; his body disappeared as if it had melted and appeared right in front of Malphas.
Malphas quickly raised his arms, but KangWoo grabbed them and ripped them off.
Crack-!
[AARRGGHH!]
His arms were ripped off, and horrible pain spread through his body. Black blood poured in all directions.
Malphas clenched his teeth and stood up.
A black sphere about the size of a fist appeared in front of his chest.
He used the power given to him by the Evil God, Lucifer. The black sphere grew in size.
The word ‘destruction’ was perfect to describe it since it absorbed everything in its surroundings.
The black sphere tried to drag KangWoo in.
"..."
KangWoo extended his hands and didn't try to resist its absorbing capabilities.
KangWoo's hands touched the black sphere, and a smile appeared on Malphas's face.
Tap-
[Huh?]
Nothing happened.
Although the human's hands had touched the black sphere, his body wasn't dragged into it.
CRACK-!
[H-huh? Wh-what the…?]
No. Rather than that, the black sphere was starting to be devoured by a black fog that poured out from the human.
Malphas's face turned pale.
The power given to him by Lucifer started to quickly disappear.
[What are you doing?!] he anxiously shouted.
* * *
He couldn't help but think that something was wrong. A subconscious fear took control of his body.
—The fear that prey feels towards a predator.
[Th-this can't be happening!!] He shouted as if he were about to have a seizure.
He turned his feet and pulled his body back.
'I must gain some distance first.'
He, Halphas, and Phenex specialized in long-range battles.
Distancing themselves and using the strong demonic energy spheres was how they fought.
Maintaining a distance was vital in making use of that advantage.
But…
[Huh?]
Malphas's eyes trembled.
His eyes widened as if he'd seen something unbelievable.
He did his best to create distance and backed off hundreds of meters in just a second.
But…
"I told you to stand still, didn't I?"
As if he were having a nightmare, KangWoo was still just as close to him.
He was so close that he could hear his breath.
[H-hiic!]
He twisted his body.
KangWoo extended his hands and grabbed Malphas's legs.
Crack-!
[AARRGGHH!!!]
Malphas's legs were crushed as if they were going through a press machine.
KangWoo twisted his hands as if he were squeezing a mop.
Malphas’s skin tore and burst, spraying black blood into the air.
Black smoke leaked from KangWoo’s hands while he was still holding onto Malphas’s legs, and the smoke entered his body through the wounds.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
[Wh-what are you d…? AAGGHH! ARRGGHH!! P-please. Stop!!]
A tremendous amount of pain wracked his body.
Malphas fell to the ground and trembled.
His eyes rolled back, and bubbles frothed from his mouth.
He'd lived many years as an immortal but had never felt pain like that.
It was as if thousands, tens of thousands, of red ants had entered his body and were devouring him from the inside out.
He never thought he'd be able to feel being devoured in such a crude way.
[YOU!!]
Halphas quickly came running.
He grabbed his arm that had been cut by Kim ShiHoon and launched a black sphere.
"Wait for your turn."
KangWoo bounced his finger, and the black sphere Halphas launched returned to him.
Halphas couldn't dodge his own attack due to the wound he’d received while fighting Kim ShiHoon.
[AAGGHH!]
He collapsed after being hit with the black sphere.
KangWoo's eyes focused on Malphas.
[P-please!! S-stop!!]
The black smog that was chewing his body spread through his veins.
Malphas's body started seizing as if he were being electrocuted.
No, he wouldn't have felt so much pain if he had been tortured with electricity.
He lost his mind at the immense pain.
Even his loyalty toward Lucifer had no meaning at that moment.
[I… I'm sorry!! AAGGHH!! S-STOP!!]
Tears dripped from his eyes.
He didn't have the mental space to feel pride anymore.
Was it because his painful cry had reached KangWoo’s ears? The horrible pain stopped.
"A thousand minus seven?"
[Yes? Wh-what does that…? AAGGHH!!]
"I won't ask many times."
He looked at Malphas with deep, sunken eyes.
"A thousand minus seven?"
[993!! It's 993!]
"Well done."
The tips of his mouth went up.
He raised his index finger, and the Authority of Predation within his body took a bite of Malphas’s skin.
[AAGGHH!!]
A horrible scream spread through the area.
It was about the size of a nail, but the Authority of Predation amplified that pain.
His body started to seize again.
"Next."
[AAGGHH! S-stop!! Please!!]
"Keep going."
[986...! AAGGHH!!]
"Come on."
[979!]
The number started to go down. Every time he said a number, the Authority of Predation took another bite.
It was a method of torture he'd seen in a manhwa before he’d fallen into Hell.
By making the target continuously do math, you force them to use their heads, and that makes them feel even more fear and pain.
"Keep going."
[419!]
It was really effective.
It wasn't that demons were better than humans at making calculations…
They just had an overwhelming strength compared to humans.
[6...]
Gradually, the counting ended.
Saliva was leaking out of Malphas's mouth, and he was about to lose consciousness.
KangWoo grabbed his head and dragged it close to him.
"You’ve had enough practice, right?"
[What…?]
"Now this is where the fun begins."
A craziness Malphas had never seen or felt before weighed down on him.
KangWoo slowly opened his mouth.
"The number of real roots in the two equations P (x) = 0, Q (x) = 0 is 7 and 9 each. The set A = {(x,y) P (x) Q (y) = 0 and Q (x) P (y) = 0 x and y mistake} is A's infinite set. The set A's partial set B = {(x,y) (x,y) ∈ A and x = y}. If the number of elements is n(B), this changes according to P(x), Q(x). Find the maximum value of n(B)."
[What?]
"Solve that."
[No, wait. What does that—? AAGGHH!!]
A horrifying scream spread from his mouth.
KangWoo smiled.
"Malphas, do you get it?"
‘This is just a brief taste of Korea's level of mathematics.’
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