Chapter 103: Demon God

“To be honest, I was pretty surprised.”

When I collapsed in fear, the Demon God sneered and spoke.

“Every time you lost to me, you were always alone. But this time, it’s different, isn’t it?”

The Demon God turned its head. Its gaze was fixed on the ceiling.

That was when it happened. Light rippled across the ceiling, and a scene from somewhere was reflected there.

I realized that place was where I had been standing just moments ago—

—Don’t give up!

—We have to save Ms. Verdi!

I realized it when I saw Jihyeok and Deneb.

That wasn’t all.

The Hunters were fighting against the S-Rank Demon Beasts the Demon God had summoned.

“You were always selfish and self-righteous, but what wind blew you to call your friends this time?”

“……That’s…”

“I thought you’d gone back to the past with your memories. But it seems that wasn’t the case.”

The Demon God was right. Until I faced it alone, I had forgotten the memories of challenging it.

To think all of this was being repeated by its hand.

“I really don’t get it. No matter how much I think about it. So this time, I kept watching you from the sidelines, and ah. Is that it?”

As if something had occurred to it, the Demon God clapped its palm.

“Is it because of them?”

Saying that, it pointed at the scene with its hand. What was there was Deneb.

“Did they change you?”

The scene shifted. Soon, the man who appeared was Mr. Luca.

Grind.

The moment their figures appeared, I reflexively ground my teeth.

“Either way, it seems that’s the answer.”

Whether it noticed that or not, the Demon God wore a sneer at the corner of its mouth.

“What should I do? Should I just kill those two like this?”

At those words, I didn’t answer, only glared at the Demon God.

“Good eyes. In fact, I like you. You’re the only one who’s ever been able to stand against me. My battles with you let me forget my boredom for a while. So I turned back the world over and over to fight you. Of course, I was always the victor.”

“Is that so.”

“Hm?”

I stood up, planting my feet on the ground.

Chatting with it had calmed my mind a little.

I reached out my hand. A magic circle formed in front of my palm.

“Ooh.”

At my action, the Demon God shrugged its shoulders as if mocking me.

At that moment.

CRACK!

A tingling pain shot through my palm as I was drawing the magic circle, and the circle vanished.

“Spell blocking…”

It was the Demon God’s doing.

“Seems like being called a Grand Mage outside has made you arrogant.”

The Demon God reached out its hand. Then, in front of its palm, a magic circle far larger and more precise than the one I had drawn appeared.

“I am the God of Magic, the source itself. You, who have merely received a portion of my power, dare to challenge me with magic?”

Spell blocking wouldn’t work. True to its name as the Demon God, it was both the God of Demon Beasts and the God of Magic.

This power I received was ultimately just a part of its power.

There was no way I could win.

But.

“That doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

Ignoring that, I drew a magic circle.

Spell blocking? I just hadn’t expected it earlier. This time, I cast a Mana Shield to prevent it.

“A contest of strength, huh. Fine. I won’t use spell blocking. That way, you’ll despair even more.”

Hundreds of orbs appeared in front of the magic circle the Demon God had drawn. It was Fireball, the most basic attack magic I favored most.

But the Fireball the Demon God created was overwhelmingly powerful, to the point it couldn’t be called a basic attack spell.

An explosive heat so intense it took my breath away.

A size more overwhelming than the Super-Heat System spell Hellfire.

As for its power… there was no need to mention it.

The best and strongest magic I could use, and that bastard crushes it with basic spells.

“……”

I was speechless at the sight before me.

But I couldn’t give up.

I gathered every bit of mana I had.

‘Even if my opponent is a Demon God.’

Everyone is fighting.

They’re pushing forward, trying to overcome their past defeats.

And here I am, about to despair just because a giant wall appears in front of me?!

I crammed every bit of mana that regenerated as I spent it into the incantation.

The light of the magic circle grew intense, and its size expanded.

Even so, it was still small compared to the Demon God’s.

But it was enough to resist.

WHOOSH—!

A torrent of Hellfire poured down.

In response, the Demon God fired off the Fireball it had created.

*KABOOOOM!*

The moment the flames from both sides clashed, a violent explosion erupted.

The blast of hot wind wrapped around my body. I immediately deployed a Mana Shield.

The surroundings were melting from the sheer heat wave. Even with the Mana Shield up, it was hard to breathe from the intense heat.

But I couldn’t stop.

I reached out my hand. What rose was a blue-light magic circle. I deployed the extreme ice system spell, Icicle Spear.

Meanwhile, within the heat wave, the Demon God also deployed a magic circle. It was a magic circle that emitted a blue light, just like mine.

The magic it created was a very basic spell: Ice Bolt.

*Crackle—!*

The heat wave vanished in an instant, and sub-zero cold swept over the surroundings.

A space frozen in an instant. This time, my breath came out as mist.

Even with the Mana Shield on, a bone-chilling cold covered my entire body, as if I might freeze solid at any moment.

*CRACK!*

The Demon God’s Ice Bolt shot out first. I fired my loaded Icicle Spear in response.

*KWAANG!*

The moment the two cold energies collided, frost scattered everywhere.

“How amusing, how amusing! As expected, there’s no one but you who can satisfy me!”

The Demon God kept firing Ice Bolts. I was putting my life on the line, going all out, but that bastard was overwhelming me with just basic magic.

‘What the hell is so amusing about this?’

No matter how I looked at it, it felt like it was just toying with me. But maybe this was better.

If that bastard had gone all out, I would have been taken down in an instant, and it would have reached Jihyeok and the other guild members.

‘What do I do?’

I never once imagined I’d be thinking thoughts like this.

And that makes sense — I am Yoschuko Verdiol, the Hunter hailed as the Great Mage.

And yet… I’m feeling an overwhelming difference in skill.

True to the name Demon God, that bastard is far too strong. Even if Jihyeok and the other Hunters took down the S-Rank Demon Beasts and joined in, I don’t feel confident — in fact, I only feel like we’d lose.

No, can the Hunters even beat the S-Rank Demon Beasts in the first place? There were already so many sacrifices just dealing with Nergal alone.

That was when it happened.

*KWAANG!*

My concentration wavered slightly, and a crack formed in my Mana Shield.

“Kuh…”

One of the Ice Bolts the bastard fired grazed my side.

*Crackle—*

I quickly redeployed the Mana Shield, but it was already too late. Ice bloomed from the area that was hit.

“Shit…!”

The ice that bloomed instantly froze half my body.

As a result, I lost my balance and had no choice but to brace myself against the ground.

“Is this as far as you go this time?”

As I stopped my magic, the floating Demon God slowly descended in front of me. When I lifted my head, I saw it wearing a sneer on its face — my face.

“How disappointing. After waiting so long, I finally managed to alleviate a bit of my boredom, and now I have to wait again.”

“If I go down here, what happens to my companions?”

“Well, they’d be trapped here forever, wouldn’t they? Not that it matters anyway. You’ll just go back to the past, and you’ll lose your memory. You’ll forget everything that happened here, so why bother caring?”

“…I do.”

How could I ever forget the people who trusted me and followed me here?

So I couldn’t afford to lose.

No matter how powerful the enemy was, I had to overcome it by any means necessary.

CRUNCH!

I shattered the ice binding my body with a strength-enhancement spell.

“Oh?”

The bastard looked surprised for a moment, then started drawing another magic circle.

I chanted a spell right away. With infinite mana flowing through me, it seemed like this would turn into a battle of endurance from here on.

“…!”

Since both of us could use Incantationless Casting, the battlefield was filled with nothing but the sounds of our spells clashing.

BOOM—!

A massive fireball created by the Demon God. It was a basic attack spell, but when the Demon God shaped it, it far surpassed high-level magic.

“Crazy…”

A curse mixed with admiration slipped out of my mouth.

Even for someone as versed in magic as me, seeing that sight made it unavoidable.

Countless fireballs rained down from the sky toward me. The sight was like watching a meteor shower.

It made me want to give up on struggling altogether.

‘…No.’

Grip.

Since I was a mage who didn’t need a staff, my hands were empty, so I clenched my fist instead of holding something.

Magic heavily influences the user’s mentality.

Clenching my fist couldn’t completely push away the pressure, but it was better than doing nothing.

‘I have no choice.’

I had already decided on the spell. I stretched out both hands. Dozens of magic circles of different colors formed around my body.

There was no time to think. I activated the magic immediately, and light burst from each magic circle.

The meteor shower pouring from the sky.

The light I shot out to block that meteor shower.

Both sides’ spells clashed once more.

KABOOOOM!

* * *

“……”

My vision was blurry.

My consciousness was hazy too.

My body was already a wreck, and I was barely standing.

“As expected, you never disappoint me.”

The Demon God approached me.

‘…Who knew I’d want to beat the shit out of my own face like this.’

But I didn’t have the strength for that.

The endlessly replenishing mana.

The Mana Shield I created with it.

With those two, I could have called myself practically invincible.

But not anymore.

The mana I thought would overflow forever had been completely depleted the moment I took that bastard’s meteor shower head-on.

‘…Damn it.’

Had I ever felt this hopeless before?

Ah, I had. When I couldn’t save Iris.

And now.

This time, I wouldn’t be able to save anyone, including Jihyeok.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

The words I barely managed to force out. At my words, the Demon God seemed to give permission, lifting the corner of its mouth slightly.

“You, why do you keep repeating time?”

“Why? Because you’re the only one who can stand against me.”

“…?”

“A long time ago, I wiped out everything in this world that threatened me. But after that, the world became too boring. You know what I mean, don’t you? The emptiness of being the strongest.” In the midst of that, I thought of one method. What if I created someone who could stand against me myself? So I made you. But if I kill you, it goes back to that boring world, right? I don’t want that. So I turned back time.”

I see.

I’d thought I was being completely overwhelmed by this bastard, but it seems like even that was enough to entertain him.

Just how bored was he?

“…That’s a pretty twisted hobby.”

“Well, I suppose it would feel that way from your perspective. But this is my only pleasure, you know. This time was quite fun too.”

A light flickered in the Demon God’s hand, radiating an ominous aura.

“See you again.”

And then, just as that hand reached out toward me—

“Don’t give up, Verdiol!”

A girl’s voice rang out.

A voice I felt like I’d heard a very long time ago… but one I hadn’t heard recently.

At that voice, the Demon God and I both turned our heads at the same time.

There stood—

“Iris…?”

One of the reasons I came here.

Iris, a girl who looked strikingly similar to my current form, was there.