Not downward, but to the left.
That’s what Hwajeong told me—she sensed someone was about to make a move during the scuffle.
In that split second—
Zzzzzzz!
I couldn’t help but be amazed internally.
I had simply swung my sword with all my might. But the sensation of cutting through the air was different this time. It was like slicing paper inside scissors—a crisp, refreshing feeling brushed my hand.
But that wasn’t all. Suddenly, an unknown resistance made my grip feel heavier, and the sword seemed to silently explode with energy. A massive, reddish sword aura burst forth, rushing relentlessly toward someone who was just starting to rise.
Did they sense something was off? Lilith, who had been retreating, turned her head in surprise. Her mouth hung open in shock just as the released energy struck her—both happened almost simultaneously.
And then—
Fwoooosh!
What happened next was—
“…!”
Even I couldn’t believe it, despite being the one who caused it.
Before I could say a word, the flames spread instantly from the point of impact, engulfing Lilith’s entire body. In no time, she was drenched in a deep crimson so intense that her form vanished beneath it.
That was the end.
When the blazing fire died down, all that remained was a handful of ashes drifting in the air. She had melted away completely, unable to utter a sound.
“…”
That scene was probably the result of a combination of seven times my usual magic output, the power of Excalibur, and Hwajeong’s unleashed strength.
My rational mind analyzed and explained it all, but even so, I still couldn’t believe it.
To think I’d wiped out not just any demon, but the great demon Lilith, with a single blow? It was utterly absurd. Yet it had actually happened.
I clenched my fist reflexively. Part of me was shocked by my own power, but another part felt a twinge of regret. At least with Lilith, I had truly intended to kill her painfully…
“Kim Suhyeon!”
A furious roar cut through the air as someone suddenly charged at me, body bent low. It was Astaroth, his face twisted in rage, his fist wreathed in black flames, desperately reaching out.
But the moment I caught sight of him, his movements seemed to slow down endlessly, like a panorama playing in slow motion. I tilted my head back, narrowly dodging his face-targeted attack, then met his incoming strike with my left fist.
At the exact moment our fists collided with his chest—
Bang!
The sensation was like bursting a water balloon with a powerful punch. Thick, black blood splattered against my face, carried by a storm of wind. After blinking a few times, I saw Astaroth’s body flying through the air, black veins trailing down his face.
No—without realizing it, I’d called it a corpse. Because from chest to abdomen, there was a huge hole, leaving him completely mangled. It was so torn open that you could see straight through to the other side, as if his organs had exploded outward.
“Grrr…!”
Moments later, Astaroth’s body hit the ground with a thud and began twitching violently. His eyes rolled back, foam spilling from his mouth. He was barely clinging to life, but it was hard to say he was truly alive in that state.
Sure enough, after a short while, his spasms ceased and his body went limp. Compared to the curses he’d hurled at me before dying in the first round, this was a pitifully bleak end.
I prepared to finish him off, just in case he might revive with his last breath, but it was unnecessary. Before I could even release any energy, Astaroth’s body turned to ash, just like Lilith’s. All that remained was a pool of black blood soaking into the earth.
Confirming their complete annihilation, I was once again stunned.
Was it bewilderment? Or just dumbfounded? With a single punch, Astaroth vanished without a trace. This wasn’t just getting stronger—it was an unprecedented, extraordinary power.
Of course, I had some idea why.
Name: Kim Suhyeon (5th Year)
Class: Sovereign of Sword (Arousal Secret, Sovereign Of Sword, Master)
Nation: Free Mercenary
Clan: Mercenary (Clan Rank: S Zero)
Titles & Nationality: 1. The Summit 2. Sovereign of Sword 3. Demonic Nature • Republic of Korea
Gender: Male (29)
Height & Weight: 181.5 cm • 75.5 kg
Alignment: Moderation • Chaos
[Strength 111 (+14)] [Endurance 95 (+2)] [Agility 103 (+2)] [Stamina 105 (+6)] [Magic Power 96] [Luck 90 (+2)]
(Remaining stat points: 0)
No matter how many times I checked, my strength stat still felt unreal.
My base strength was ninety-seven points. Then, TOPG boosted it by fourteen points, Suramachang added six, and Excalibur another six—totaling a fourteen-point increase, bringing me to 111. I’d heard that surpassing 100 points meant transcending human limits…
But 111 points? In fifteen years as a user, I’d never even imagined such a stat. Honestly, it was a power that scared me.
At that moment, I felt a tap on the crown of my head.
“Hmph. You should be grateful I’m holding back. If I hadn’t, not only would that guy have died, but your allies might have too.”
…What? So Hwajeong had intervened, adjusting my power just enough to kill only Astaroth? Then how strong would I be at full force?
“Think about it. Just by raw numbers, that guy was using his luck stat to overcome dimensional laws.”
Hmm. Ansol’s luck stat was 105, right?
“Different stats, sure, but you’re at 111 points. At this level, you’re not just overcoming dimensional laws—you’re far beyond that. So these guys? They were doomed from the start… Hey, where are you looking?”
Just as I pretended to be surprised and glanced upward, Hwajeong pressed harder on my temple. Too bad.
“You really can’t let your guard down for a second. …Anyway, I don’t think you have any real sense of your own power yet.”
Then she grabbed my head and forced my gaze elsewhere.
“First, what are you going to do with those guys?”
She showed me the center of the battlefield, now quiet. Specifically, the stunned users from the Western and Southern continents, staring at me in disbelief.
What was there to ask? From my perspective, they were all accomplices. If it weren’t for them, none of this would have happened. I wasn’t some saint—I had no intention of sparing them.
Honestly, it might be cleaner if they died here. Even if they surrendered and survived, their lives afterward would be miserable.
“Fine. Then…”
At that moment, a warm, gentle energy spread from my wrist to my forearm. As if reading my thoughts, Hwajeong lifted my arm and aimed it straight ahead.
Only then did I catch a glimpse of part of her body—just one arm, but the clear, flowing light along it somehow radiated a distinctly feminine charm.
“…Focus. Don’t think about anything strange. The basic principle is the same as the divine powers of the mythic realm. All you have to do is put your will into it. I’ll handle the rest. Got it?”
Hwajeong muttered as I slowly nodded. It was simple. The greatest feature of mythic powers was the user’s broad authority to decide how to wield their strength. For example, even when attacking within the same range, you could distinguish between friend and foe.
“Good. Just like that. Keep it up. Yes, yes… Starting now.”
At the same time, twin streams of flame silently shot out from my fingertips. They stretched out to the left and right, crossing the area like beams of light, forming a circular perimeter. As the circle began to spin, the enemies seemed to finally realize their predicament.
The undulating ring of fire now encircled the entire arena, spinning fiercely. In the blink of an eye, it accelerated, gradually shrinking the circle’s radius. At this rate, no enemy trapped inside would survive.
“Ah…!”
Coincidentally, Eldora let out a sigh from below, then clung desperately to my ankle.
“No! Stop! Those people haven’t done anything wrong! Please, please…!”
Her desperate cries fell on deaf ears. The flames moved with a quiet intensity, and as the outermost enemy was brushed by the rotating fire, all that remained was a deep red mist.
More precisely, as the flames engulfed their bodies, they melted away, releasing smoke. The entire process happened so fast it was almost simultaneous. One became two, two became four, four became sixteen, sixteen became two hundred fifty-six…
“St-stop it! Just kill me already! You damn devil!”
Eldora’s scream blended eerily with the enemies’ cries, creating a twisted harmony. But that noisy chorus abruptly fell silent. The swirling ring of fire, which had been spinning like a vortex, vanished in a blaze the moment it returned to its starting point.
A moment later.
All that remained in my sight were my comrades, staring around the empty battlefield with stunned expressions. Though it had taken less than ten seconds in reality, it felt like hours had passed.
“Hah…”
All I could do was let out a hollow laugh. Thousands of soldiers had melted away in an instant, consumed by flames. And now, I finally understood.
What it truly meant to ‘edit the world.’ And why Uriel had been so terrified of my increasing stamina, why he’d opposed it so fiercely.
With the Flame Field breaking free from its constraints, angels and demons alike were no longer even a match. It was almost unfair—too easy to be believable. It was almost laughably effortless.
…Anyway, the demon legion was completely wiped out by me, and most of the archdemons were dealt with. The western and southern continents had just been erased as well.
So now…
“Ahhhhhhh!”
A desperate, agonized scream tore through the air. I passed Eldora’s frantic cries without hesitation. Death was inevitable for her anyway. There was something far more important right now. I didn’t even need to go far—my steps stopped within twenty paces.
“……”
Erwin lay sprawled on the ground, just as he had fallen from the dais earlier. His body stretched out flat, gazing up at the sky—not with calmness, but with the look of someone who had already given up on everything. As I approached and looked down, his blurred eyes slowly met mine.
For a moment, I wanted to ask how he felt. But I held back, tightening my grip on the now-loosened hilt of my sword.
“Before I die…”
Erwin finally spoke.
“There’s something I want to ask.”
Instead of answering, I aimed Excalibur at his throat. Time seemed to freeze. My heart pounded, but my mind was chillingly calm. A sharp pang settled in my lower abdomen.
The moment I had been waiting for, the moment I had imagined countless times, had finally arrived.
“Well… I don’t really have much to say to you.”
My voice was cold, colder than I expected.
“You’ve annoyed me for far too long. …And you did it again this time.”
“……?”
“In the past, too.”
“……!”
The last words were muttered so quietly that no one else could hear. Erwin flinched, a flicker of pain flashing in his eyes. If Satan were watching, he’d probably have a good guess. It was, in its own way, a kind of consideration.
“…Hah.”
Suddenly, Satan crossed his arms over his face. His shoulders began to shake.
“Heh heh… hahahaha…”
The low sound was hard to read. With his arms covering his face, I couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying.
“So that’s how it was… huh.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Hm? Ah… honestly, until just now, I felt nothing. It was all over, and it felt strangely empty. But then…”
“……”
“As soon as I heard what you said, I thought, ‘That’s a bit much.’ Hahaha.”
“Well, whatever. The outcome’s the same now as it was then.”
I said, then raised Excalibur high into the sky.
“So.”
“Let’s end this. I’m sick and tired of it all.”
At that moment, Satan’s endless laughter abruptly stopped. His face remained hidden behind his crossed arms.
“We’re two sides of the same coin, Kim Soo-hyun.”
The last thing I saw was the faint curl of a smirk.
As Erwin’s words ended, I brought Excalibur down. The blade caught the dazzling sunlight, slicing through the air with force before plunging into his throat.
A finishing blow worthy of the finale—clean, sharp, and, even by my own standards, incredibly satisfying.