Episode 510. Lucifer (7)

Victoria Park was as quiet as a dead mouse.

Even after passing the entrance, the Iris Guild was nowhere to be seen, and a chilling atmosphere persisted.

‘…This is really strange.’

Lee Hoyeon cautiously entered, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

It was only natural to feel awkward on the familiar paths of the park when there was no one around.

“Normally, people should be milling about right here.”

It was strange enough that they had entered the park without any resistance in the first place.

Because the Iris Guild’s security wasn’t this sloppy.

‘At this point, something definitely happened.’

Swoosh.

Lee Hoyeon walked towards the towering black pillar, activating his rune barrier.

However, even as he ventured deeper, no Iris Guild members were visible. Instead, a chilling energy began to envelop Lee Hoyeon’s body.

Thump.

“There’s definitely something here.”

As soon as he approached the black pillar within a certain distance, a familiar combat sense filled his body.

It wasn’t as intense as encountering a formidable foe, but the mere pounding of his heart confirmed the presence of enemies nearby.

“The surrounding mana is too murky. Is it a demon beast?”

A barrier surrounded the black pillar, and Lee Hoyeon’s sensitive senses detected the faint scent of demon beasts.

‘I just came to check the magic circle… What rotten luck.’

It was a demon beast attack.

He didn’t know why they were attacked, but it seemed all the Iris Guild members near the black pillar had fallen victim to the demon beasts.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that the strangeness was confined only around the black pillar.

He had set up the fake dungeon magic circle quite far from the black pillar to avoid detection by the Iris Guild members, so it seemed the demon beasts weren’t targeting his magic circle.

‘The chances of it being discovered were low to begin with…’

He had invested heavily in stealth, so he was confident he wouldn’t be caught, but there’s always the ‘what if’.

If he contacted Irene immediately and the fake dungeon magic circle was discovered, it would be truly catastrophic.

‘…What if I don’t contact her right away and the guild members get into danger?’

He felt a pang of guilt, but given the nature of demon beasts, the possibility of them being captured alive was slim.

Just in case, maybe he should quickly observe the demon beasts’ movements.

Lee Hoyeon stealthily approached the black pillar.

“Huh?”

As he crossed the park and neared the black pillar, demon beasts were indeed positioned as Lee Hoyeon had expected.

However, there was one figure that didn’t match his expectations. As soon as Lee Hoyeon recognized him, his eyes widened, and he ducked for cover.

‘Lucifer…?’

A black tuxedo and the devil horns protruding from his head.

An overwhelming presence so strong it seemed to suppress the mana emanating from the black pillar.

Even with his back turned, Lee Hoyeon knew.

That was Lucifer.

‘Why is Lucifer here?’

Lee Hoyeon focused mana into his rune barrier and retreated as far back as possible.

Fortunately, the rune barrier, fused with the mana of the Underworld, went unnoticed even by Lucifer.

• Yes… Where are you headed now…

Though the distance made it hard to hear clearly, the demon beast and Lucifer were conversing.

Swallowing nervously, Lee Hoyeon carefully picked up on the vibrations in the air.

Lee Hoyeon’s mana sensitivity was top-tier, even by world standards.

He could discern even the faintest flow of sound from quite a distance.

• Don’t ask pointless questions.

• …It’s almost finished. However, the humans…

‘Clairvoyance’

Lucifer’s voice was relatively clear, but the demon beast’s voice, overwhelmed by Lucifer’s imposing presence, was difficult to make out.

Using Clairvoyance, Lee Hoyeon read the demon beast’s lip movements to eavesdrop on their conversation.

• What is it?

• As per your orders, Lucifer-nim, we’ve captured them all alive… What should we do with them?

• There weren’t any particularly interesting humans. Dispose of them as you see fit.

• Understood…!

Seeing the demon beast grin wickedly, Lee Hoyeon frowned.

‘Captured alive?’

The possibility of demon beasts capturing Iris Guild members alive was extremely low, but considering Lucifer’s personality, it made sense.

Lucifer is fundamentally a perfect Demon King, but he has two weaknesses.

His personality, which desires the destruction of the human world yet seeks to satisfy his own curiosity, and his dependence on his Demonic Eyes.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the protagonist of the original work had all the conditions set up to face Lucifer, and naturally, Lee Hoyeon possessed the same conditions.

‘Perhaps I won’t be visible to his Demonic Eyes this time either.’

From Rebecca’s memories, Lucifer had sought out Lee Hoyeon, not just Liliana.

The reason, of course, was that he had become interested in Lee Hoyeon.

Whatever Lucifer does, he checks the potential danger beforehand with his Demonic Eyes.

His Demonic Eyes can see through all things in the world, so it wasn’t strange for him to base his actions on them.

However, Lucifer’s Demonic Eyes didn’t work on the protagonist, Lee Hoyeon.

It was natural for Lucifer, who relied on his Demonic Eyes, to become interested upon encountering someone his eyes couldn’t affect for the first time.

In the original work, the protagonist exploits that loophole to deal with Lucifer.

‘I wish the same thing would happen here.’

It was just a shame Lucifer wasn’t the actual Demon King.

• I must be going now. Leave the cleanup to you.

• Yes. Lucifer-nim…!

Lee Hoyeon focused on the concluding conversation, glaring at Lucifer’s back.

Swoosh-

A moment later, Lucifer’s body seemed to scatter into the air and disappear.

At the same time, the oppressive mana of the Underworld weakened.

“…Where did he go?”

As soon as Lee Hoyeon saw Lucifer disappear, he sent an emergency signal to Irene via his smartwatch.

An emergency signal should pinpoint his location, so she should arrive soon.

All that remained were those demon beasts.

“I wonder if those bastards know.”

Lucifer’s whereabouts and the missing Iris Guild members.

He felt sorry for the Iris Guild members, but Lee Hoyeon needed to know Lucifer’s objective right now.

Lee Hoyeon cautiously approached the black pillar, mindful of Lucifer’s lingering mana.

*

Kessus, an executive of Pandemic who had seized control of the black pillar in Victoria Park.

As soon as Lucifer vanished, he straightened his hunched back and spoke to his subordinate.

“We’re withdrawing now. Fuck… I’m gonna die”

“Yes. Understood!”

To Pandemic, Lucifer was nothing but a nuisance.

The fortunate thing was that those who backed down were generally left alone.

It all depended on Lucifer’s mood.

The reason they controlled the black pillar now was also due to Lucifer’s command.

“He doesn’t even tell us what he’s doing, just bosses us around. What a psycho bastard.”

There was only one reason Kessus could badmouth him like this.

Lucifer always kept his word.

If he said he’d leave, he’d never come back.

“Tsk… I guess it’s fortunate I can still play with humans.”

He scowled and looked towards the humans huddled in the corner.

A group of humans, bound entirely and their mana sealed.

Since he had Lucifer’s permission, he could now do as he pleased.

“…Kessus-nim.”

“Hm?”

Just then, a demon beast at the front called out to Kessus.

Kessus, interrupted just as he was about to have some fun, turned his head.

Swoosh-

He watched as a figure materialized out of thin air.

“An, an intruder!”

“An intruder? But there was no reaction from the barrier.”

A human man emitting strong mana, unnaturally handsome.

Kessus instantly identified the opponent.

“I-It’s Lee Hoyeon! Kessus-nim!”

“…I know.”

Lee Hoyeon the Mage.

A top-tier individual on Victoria Academy’s watch list and Pandemic’s number one target.

He was a dangerous individual for a single executive to handle, but the situation was different now.

To assist Lucifer, a significant number of A-class demon beasts, including himself, an executive, were present.

Furthermore, there was Pandemic’s secret weapon that had subdued the Iris Guild before Lucifer even arrived.

The Mana Nullification Barrier.

He calculated that they could win if they fought now.

Having made a swift decision, Kessus raised his mana.

“Don’t be scared! With the Mana Nullification Barrier, we can win. I’ll make sure you guys get promoted with this opportunity!”

“Yes!”

Bolstered by Kessus’s words, the demon beasts began to surround Lee Hoyeon one by one.

Indeed, subduing the Iris Guild under the Mana Nullification Barrier had been incredibly easy.

Capturing Lee Hoyeon shouldn’t be difficult either.

Seeing the demon beasts surrounding him, Lee Hoyeon felt his combat senses slowly heightening.

Thump. Thump.

The demon beasts’ expressions were fierce, but Lee Hoyeon’s heart was calm.

Crackle-

A strange energy spread outwards, originating from one of the demon beasts surrounding Lee Hoyeon.

“Tch… To think I’d get a chance to capture the genius mage Lee Hoyeon, the number one hunter target.”

Kessus glared at Lee Hoyeon with a sinister smile.

He could feel his own mana disappearing.

This was the Mana Nullification Barrier.

Even without using mana, demon beasts possess monstrous physical abilities.

But Lee Hoyeon was just a normal human.

There was no way he could handle dozens of demon beasts.

The situation was perfect.

The moment they deployed a mana-blocking barrier against a mage, victory was all but assured.

“…”

Lee Hoyeon frowned, clenching and unclenching his fists.

The Mana Nullification Barrier.

It had been a while since he felt this.

The Mana Nullification Barrier used by Shin Dongmin, Moon Surin’s stalker.

The memory of being beaten within an inch of his life and saved by Moon Surin just before dying was still vivid.

“A genius mage’s magic is supposed to be finished… Human, what are you going to do?”

“This brings back memories.”

Zzzzt. Zzzzt.

The awkward sensation of mana not rising.

He had no idea how much thought he’d put into overcoming this.

He had even trained in close combat with Scarlet and thought about refining his magic further.

But that wasn’t necessary now.

The mana-blocking barrier was ultimately designed based on humans.

The current Lee Hoyeon possessed a completely different kind of mana.

“Stop watching and kill him!”

Centered around the executive Kessus, the demon beasts advanced towards Lee Hoyeon.

Their movements showed no sign of them considering defeat.

Watching them, Lee Hoyeon smiled and lightly stomped the ground.

Creak.

“Nngh?!”

The moment Lee Hoyeon touched the ground, pitch-black mana from the Underworld surged upwards.

The Underworld’s mana, easily pushing past the mana-blocking barrier, created a sky-piercing force, and the mana rising from the floor began to wrap around the demon beasts’ legs.

“I-Impossible… The tests on the mana resistance barrier should have been completed already…!”

Kessus’s eyes widened.

The tests were perfect, concluding that it was impossible for a human to break through this barrier, so why was this happening?

Kessus could never comprehend the situation unfolding before him: mana identical to Lucifer’s flowing from Lee Hoyeon.

“Know your place, bastard.”

Lee Hoyeon felt a sense of exhilaration he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The Lee Hoyeon from a few months ago might have been blocked by this barrier, but for Lee Hoyeon, who had mastered the mana of the Underworld, it was no challenge.

“I don’t have much time. Irene-ssi will be here soon.”

Lee Hoyeon walked towards Kessus, channeling mana into his fist.

He needed to extract all the necessary information before Irene arrived.