Energy from her entire body surged into both eyes.
At the same time, all her senses focused solely on her eyeballs.
The muscles around her eyes convulsed, her nerves drawn taut.
‘I see. So this is...’
Hella’s eyes, dyed orange, gazed at the enemy before her.
At the Demon Dragon glaring at her, drawing up his energy to its utmost as he prepared to attack.
And at the Demon Dragon whose completed attack—an outpouring of demonic power that would sweep the entire area in a single stroke—came crashing down.
At the image of two worlds overlapping as one.
[I am the Demon Dragon Duke—the strongest in the Demon Realm, and the one who shall soon become Demon King! Do you think someone like me would fall from a mere wound of this degree?!]
Despite the internal injuries he must have suffered, the attack was so meticulously woven that evasion was nearly impossible.
But when she already knew the outcome perfectly, responding to it was no different from looking at the answer sheet in advance.
Kiiiiiing—
Her eyes turned blue.
Immediately afterward, time within a certain area froze, and everything inside came to a halt.
The flow of air, the movement of the elements, and even the current of demonic power flying toward her with destructive force—everything.
Hella calmly slipped through that opening and quietly clicked her tongue.
‘This is amazing, isn’t it? If it’s already this good right after I acquired it, then if I can raise my proficiency even further...’
Perhaps she really could stop even that Demon Dragon’s time.
Transcendence was a realm permitted to those who had surpassed the limits of the existence that defined them and established a domain of their own.
It was proof of a supremely lofty rank, one that was not easily shaken by external interference and could even force its own laws upon the world.
Moreover, was that Demon Dragon Duke not a being standing at the very edge of that realm, aiming for quasi-divinity?
Naturally, his innate resistance to hostile mysteries had to be formidable as well.
‘The same goes for the way the effect of the Mystic Eye of Instant Death was halved when we used it on each other.’
In truth, at this point, it was almost embarrassing to call it “instant death,” but that couldn’t be helped.
Both the Demon Dragon and Hella possessed exalted ranks and life force close to immortality, and while both sides could use Mystic Eyes, neither could be said to have particularly high proficiency with them.
‘It’s one thing for me, since I just stole and learned it on the spot... But if he’s on a similar level to me, that means he hasn’t been able to fully handle this power all this time either.’
Having used the power of the 「Seven-Colored Mystic Eyes」 herself, Hella could tell.
In truth, the limits of this ability were not merely the level she or the Demon Dragon had displayed.
The Mystic Eye of Foresight had the possibility of seeing not just a few seconds ahead, but the true “future,” and the Mystic Eye of Stasis had the potential to halt time across an entire area.
And the same was true for the other abilities as well, including the Mystic Eye of Annihilation.
‘It must be a limitation born from the fact that he only forcibly stole the power and wasn’t one of the Mystic Eye race, its original owners. From the moment he stole it, he could no longer develop it further.’
But Hella, who had the blood of the Mystic Eye race flowing through half her body, was in a different situation.
She had once heard about the Mystic Eye race from Liliana, the godmother of the Dream Walkers.
Though they had fallen so far because of the Demon Dragon Duke that it was now difficult to find even a single survivor, they had originally been a powerful race acknowledged by everyone even in the Demon Realm.
Born innately with a single Mystic Eye, they spent their entire lives honing it, striving to surpass the limits granted to them.
Just as the 「Mystic Eye of Domination」 Hella had inherited had exerted dominion not only over specific living individuals, but over the world itself.
‘Now that I’m comparing it to the other Mystic Eyes, the difference is clear. Thanks to using the Demon King’s eyeball as a medium, I must have inherited a certain degree of proficiency in domination.’
But the other abilities she had obtained through trickery had to be started from scratch, without exception.
Considering that even members of the Mystic Eye race, who possessed only a single Mystic Eye, spent their entire lives honing that ability, gaining access to seven abilities through the 「Seven-Colored Mystic Eyes」 could not simply be called a good thing.
Because her resources would not be concentrated, there was a high chance that all the abilities would remain at a mediocre level.
‘My blood’s boiling. As expected, eye battles are an essential element of supernatural power fights! And the fact that there are seven of them...!’
Of course, such concerns applied only to ordinary cases.
They had nothing to do with Hella.
For her, who grew far faster than others thanks to all manner of growth corrections, the more abilities she had, the better.
Above all, did she not even have the expensive but thoroughly worthwhile 『Growth Elixir (7 Days) (200,000)』?
And if she also considered the potential this body possessed as the 「Demon King」...
[Grrr—! Don’t make me laugh! How long do you think you can keep using that power so freely?!]
As if he had read her excitement, the Demon Dragon roared fiercely.
It was certainly not wrong.
Despite her enormous reserves of demonic power, the energy consumption was burdensome, and the mental resources required for a single activation were not negligible either.
‘And maybe because each one contains an independent mystery of its own, it doesn’t mesh well with other abilities, including magic.’
There was a reason why the Demon Dragon Duke, despite having obtained the power of the Mystic Eye race, had not used it freely.
For him, who already possessed mighty abilities even without Mystic Eyes, this power—one he could not develop further—was nothing more or less than a supplementary tool.
“Well, that’s something we’ll only know once I try, isn’t it? More importantly, unlike you, I’m also a legitimate heir. I understand why you’d think that just because you can’t do it, I won’t be able to either... Hm, it’s a little pathetic, isn’t it?”
[...You insolent wretch! Die!]
Demon Dragon Duke Krushire flew into a rage, apparently unable to find any reply to her mocking yet sound argument.
The smile on Hella’s lips grew deeper and deeper as she faced him.
[......!]
Then, at one moment.
The Demon Dragon’s movements suddenly stopped.
Then, as if he had encountered a situation he had never expected, emotional agitation began to seep unmistakably through that vicious dragon face.
“What’s wrong? Did you leave something behind?”
Hella lightly provoked him, but he did not respond.
As if he had truly received news of an emergency, it was blatantly obvious that he could no longer concentrate on the fight.
And the more that happened, the deeper Hella’s smile became.
“Or what... Did a thief break into your house?”
A meaningful remark tossed out with open ridicule.
Immediately afterward, the Demon Dragon’s six wide-open eyes glared at her.
[...You!]
“Honestly, even so, it hurts my feelings when you don’t focus and keep getting distracted by something else. You call yourself a duke, but your manners toward a lady are downright atrocious.”
[What in the world have you done, you mongrel?!]
As if his heart had grown urgent, demonic power burned violently from his entire body, surpassing anything he had emitted until now.
But Hella did not fall for such shallow tricks.
“Uh-uh.”
Kiiiiiing—
Her two eyes changed to different colors.
The orange of foresight and the white of annihilation.
At the same time, every means of escape the Demon Dragon had been secretly preparing was cleanly shattered.
[......]
“Where do you think you’re going? Since you went through all the trouble of coming all the way here, why don’t you play with me a little longer?”
She had not the slightest intention of letting go of this excellent teaching material.
After all, by facing him, who possessed the same Mystic Eyes, her own Mystic Eyes were also growing rapidly.
And in addition to that...
“You’ll keep me company, won’t you?”
That had been her objective from the very beginning.
[...You vulgar mongrel! How dare you play such petty tricks! I will never let this stand!]
The Demon Dragon Duke spewed his rage, apparently having accepted that he could not break through her interference and escape.
Looking at him, her red lips curved into a radiant smile.
Seeing someone else in trouble made her this happy, so it seemed she really was an irredeemable demon after all.
***
At the time when Hella and the Demon Dragon Duke were in the midst of clashing.
“Well then, shall we get started?”
Miyamoto Ken, who had slowly loosened up his body, began walking toward his destination.
Now, while the Demon Dragon Duke was away from his stronghold, was the perfect timing to begin the operation, so there was no need to hesitate any longer.
‘Of course, not all the problems have been resolved yet...’
Sodian, the marquis-class demon guarding this place in the far rear instead of going to the battlefield.
She was a powerhouse on a level that Ken, who was count-class, could not possibly handle.
Even if he launched a surprise attack, not only would he fail to inflict any significant damage, he would be the one reduced to chunks of flesh instead.
‘Still, with this guy here, it should somehow work out.’
His gaze turned toward the three-headed dog the size of a large breed, trotting along behind him.
It had not been long after he received that creature—Davidson—that he learned just how extraordinary it was.
‘I expected it to be no ordinary creature since Lady Hella sent it to me, but still, I never imagined it would be to this extent.’
On the day he received it.
Ken brought the cage holding the three-headed dog back to his quarters, and the moment he entered a place beyond the reach of outside eyes, he was confronted by an absurd situation.
“What? How in the world did you get out?”
The three-headed dog had calmly opened the iron bars and come out, even though Ken had not opened them for it.
It prowled around the inside of his quarters as if it were its own home, then soon headed to the food storage without a care and began devouring the meat inside at random.
“You little—! Stop that!”
Ken, who had been staring blankly at Davidson, stepped in to restrain it.
In truth, the meat here had merely been issued as part of officer welfare, and he had not particularly intended to eat it, but he knew that if he did not properly discipline it at the start, things would become even more exhausting in the future.
After all, before being transported to Outerica, he had been one of those Earthlings who liked animals enough to keep pets.
‘No matter how much of a Cerberus it is, when it’s a cub, it’s just a bad-tempered dog. ...Of course, I heard that temper is about a hundred times worse than the three great hellhounds combined.’
It was not merely an animal, but a demonic beast renowned even in the Demon Realm.
There was no way ordinary training would work on it.
‘Hah, I’ll have you know I raised a beagle for over five years!’
But no matter how much of a demonic beast it was, the fact that its roots lay in the canine family did not change.
The most important thing when raising a canine beast was to establish the hierarchy properly first.
Since his opponent was a demonic beast, he could not compare it to an ordinary puppy, but he at least needed to make it firmly understand who stood above whom.
“Uh-uh! I told you to stop!”
Based on that experience, Ken stepped forward decisively.
Crunch, crunch— smack, smack—
“Kaheung~ Kreung~”
“Kkakakakat!”
...And he suffered a crushing defeat in the fight for dominance.
Against a beast that only came up to his waist.
“Uuugh! What... is this...”
Crushed and sprawled miserably on the floor, he struggled to lift his head and looked at the victor.
Was it because his face was pressed against the floor?
As the creature calmly continued its meal, as if its appetite had only been stimulated further by the light exercise, the name tag reading “Davidson” stuck to its chest caught his gaze with particular force.
“...Fine, I lost.”
In the end, he acknowledged his defeat and dropped his head.
Well, it was precisely because it was a monster of that level that Lady Hella must have personally sent it to him.
Only then was he able to fully understand what Francesca had told him.
‘At this level, it should be more than capable of dealing with a marquis-class. It’ll definitely help with carrying out the operation.’
Now that he had confirmed the other party’s abilities, it was only natural to treat it accordingly.
A three-headed dog with marquis-class combat power!
At that level, it only looked like a cub on the outside; now that the Direwolf Duke was dead, it would not be an exaggeration to call it the strongest Cerberus currently alive, would it?
‘Let’s not worry about the little things. Right now, I should only think about completing the objective.’
Of course, it did hurt his pride a little that after being completely pushed down in the hierarchy, he had even had his bed taken by the creature.
And while running around with pitiful requests to replenish the food of the creature that had devoured all the meat in an instant, he had ended up with a strange image among those around him for no reason!
‘But that life ends today.’
At last, the day of action had dawned.
Ken led Davidson, who was following behind him... no.
He escorted his superior, who arrogantly walked along with Ken in the lead, toward the underground ritual chamber.
“Puhung! It’s Lord Ken. But what’s that behind you... Hm? Could it be a Cerberus?”
“Right. I received it as a gift from a fellow who came by recently, saying he’d repay his debt. Is there some problem?”
“Puh-hung— You’re the only one permitted to enter. That thing behind you cannot go in.”
The hulking gatekeeper guarding the passage connected to their target location—a viscount-class demon resembling a minotaur—kept snorting through his nose.
He was rather stupid, but he was tenacious, and his combat power didn’t fall far behind those a rank above him, so he was the kind of demon often entrusted with work like this.
“Besides, it looks a bit strange, doesn’t it? I’ve seen Cerberuses a few times myself, but this is… uh, how should I put it…”
“That’s what makes it good. Isn’t it common sense that the rarer something is, the greater its value?”
“Snort! Common sense. Right.”
“And this one hasn’t come here as a demon. I brought it as a gift to offer Lord Sodian.”
“Puh-hung! A gift? If it’s a gift… But it’s alive?”
“If need be, it can be used as a sacrifice. You know that much, don’t you? A living sacrifice is far more effective than a dead one. It’s not as if only one or two live sacrifices have gone in there until now, is it?”
“…Indeed. If it is a sacrifice, there is no problem with it being alive.”
The massive gatekeeper slowly nodded and opened the way.
He had only blocked them as a matter of procedure anyway; a Cerberus pup wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble.
If it so much as relieved itself in the wrong place inside, wouldn’t it be butchered on the spot and turned into a sacrifice?
‘Good. The first button’s been fastened without a hitch.’
And so Ken and Davidson smoothly made their way into the ritual site.
There were various security devices throughout the passage, but none of them could stop Ken, who had already received official permission and had gone in and out of this place several times.
“…Query. What brings you here, Ken? And that thing behind you is… a mutant Cerberus?”
“Ah, Lord Sodian.”
And finally, they came face-to-face with the marquis-class demon, Sodian.
Still speaking in that strange manner, she looked at them with an expressionless face.
Ken quietly swallowed dryly.
All preparations were already complete.
Not only the on-site investigation and internal sabotage, but also securing an escape route after everything was over and establishing emergency information delivery in case of contingencies.
‘Whew, I’m counting on you, Davidson.’
But before all that, the most important thing was to get past the demon before them.
If that foremost condition wasn’t met, the rest of the operation would fall apart before it could even begin.
“I thought Lord Sodian might like something like this, you see. Haha, as a token of my hope that you’ll look upon me favorably in the future…”
“Confirmation. For such a trifling reason…”
And Davidson.
He was someone who had never once disappointed a client on a mission like this.
The brief instant her gaze turned toward Ken.
The three heads, which had been blinking with innocent expressions, swelled to an enormous size in the blink of an eye—
“……?!”
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
And swept through the space inside in a single moment.