Ch.145Chapter 145. The End of the Battle (2)

“This works too.”

Woong-

While listening to the familiar trembling sound of space, I was trying everything I wanted to test.

After escaping from the severed space, Satan was no longer a major threat to me.

I could tell instinctively.

Satan’s attacks would never reach me.

Knowing this gave me the peace of mind to try various experiments.

Like now, testing whether it was possible to sever only the energy rising from Satan’s body.

‘It works.’

The large mass of black energy that had enveloped Satan’s body disappeared as if being sucked into somewhere.

Space severance.

Now I didn’t need a 2-second delay time anymore.

I could cast it the moment I decided to.

I didn’t even need to pour all my concentration into space severance like I did earlier.

Whoosh-

When part of the black energy surrounding Satan’s body disappeared, he simply filled the space again as if it didn’t matter.

I could sense his will in that action.

A fierce determination to resist me somehow.

Though covered in black mana and not visible, Satan’s eyes were flickering with rage.

“It won’t work.”

This wasn’t baseless confidence.

I was certain that Satan couldn’t defeat me now.

Even if he tried attacking in ways he hadn’t shown before.

<Arrrgh!!>

Even though he knew it wouldn’t work, Satan roared and charged at me.

Knowing speed was meaningless now, he charged without transforming into a beast.

‘A final struggle.’

That’s all I could think.

He must know he can’t land a hit on me no matter what he tries.

“Hmm?”

As I was watching Satan charge toward me in confusion—

Crackle-

A faint crackling sound came from behind me.

Crackle crackle-

It wasn’t just coming from behind.

The sound of electricity crackling came from all directions around me.

‘So that was his plan.’

Satan wasn’t casting multiple spells simultaneously in real-time.

This reaction was from magic circles he had set up in advance.

He must have prepared something on this island during the brief time after successfully tracking Elaine’s location.

Crackle crackle-

<Die!!!>

“Unfortunately.”

His strategy was good, but sadly, such attacks were mere child’s play to me now.

Black lightning struck precisely at me from all directions.

For a moment, it felt like I’d entered a different world.

Literally nothing but “black” filled my vision.

Of course, just because lightning surrounded me from all directions didn’t mean the attacks could reach me.

Speed was meaningless now.

Like before, countless attacks couldn’t pass through the distorted space right before reaching me.

‘I should finish this soon.’

I’d confirmed how quickly I could use space severance and how to use it.

And now Satan was using his last attack, employing all his hidden means.

There was no reason to waste more time here.

Still, out of courtesy, I should let him finish his attack before dealing with him.

Boom-!

The final lightning bolt missed me and struck somewhere else, and Satan’s trump card came to an end.

Now it was time to complete the quest.

“Hehehehe.”

“…Huh?”

Just as I was thinking it was over and walking out through the dust, I stopped involuntarily.

Satan was looking at me with an incredibly evil smile.

“Ryu, Ryu…!”

While firmly gripping Elaine’s neck with his right hand.

‘Damn it.’

I never expected his final struggle would be like this.

**

“Hey, you’ve already lost.”

“Shut up.”

“Ugh!”

“Don’t move carelessly. Keep your eyes down.”

‘Damn, seriously.’

As expected of a demon, he was despicably cunning.

When I tried to move even slightly, Satan tightened his grip on Elaine’s neck to threaten me.

Hearing Elaine’s voice in pain, I reflexively had to lower my head.

I’d been briefly intoxicated by the sense of omnipotence I felt after escaping from the spatial rift and hadn’t thought clearly.

Elaine was on this island too, not just Satan and me.

At first, I instinctively protected the area around Elaine as well, but with the black lightning pouring down, I momentarily lost focus.

Satan targeted precisely that gap.

No, thinking calmly, Satan didn’t just exploit a gap—he created one.

Even the seemingly meaningless black lightning was used for this purpose.

‘I fell for it.’

“Hehehe. You’re just the same. Getting careless.”

“…”

I had no rebuttal to Satan’s sharp observation.

However it happened, this situation occurred because I let my guard down.

If I hadn’t been careless and had kept my attention on Elaine, Satan wouldn’t have even thought of targeting her.

“Put down your sword first.”

“Sure, sure. I’ll fight without the sword, so let’s release Elaine first, okay?”

Clang-

I dropped the Black Shadow Sword to the ground and even pushed it slightly toward Satan.

At the same time, I raised both hands to show I had no intention of resisting.

“That sword is just a form of entertainment for you anyway.”

Satan didn’t lower his guard at all even after I discarded my sword.

Judging by Elaine’s increasingly pained groans, he seemed to have heightened his vigilance instead.

“Whoa, whoa. Hey, calm down.”

“Next is your right arm.”

“What?”

“Blow off your right arm yourself.”

“…”

That was a rather extreme demand.

I never expected him to tell me to blow off my right arm.

As I hesitated briefly, Satan immediately took action.

“Aaaagh!”

“Hey, hey, hey!”

Satan squeezed Elaine’s neck even harder to pressure me.

The pain she was experiencing was clearly evident in her voice.

‘Haa, damn it.’

Listening to Elaine writhing in pain, I looked at my right arm.

I knew the truth.

Following Satan’s demands would lead to the same conclusion.

Whether I blow off my right arm or my right leg as this vicious and despicable demon demands, he’ll kill me and Elaine anyway.

I knew this intellectually, but that didn’t provide a clear solution.

It was unthinkable to ignore Satan’s demands and just watch Elaine die before my eyes.

‘Can I do it?’

The only way to resolve this situation was to somehow save Elaine.

It seemed barely possible, but a scene flashed through my mind.

If I’d known this would happen, I should have tested space severance more against Satan earlier.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I said I’ll do it. Just stay still for now.”

“I’ll return exactly what was done to me. First, your right arm.”

Apparently, Satan lost his right arm first when he last fought the first Emperor of Crescen.

But why is he taking out those memories on me?

‘Phew, without touching Elaine.’

I closed my eyes briefly to maximize my concentration.

Then I calmly ran through the simulation.

It’s simple.

While pretending to blow off my right arm with space severance, I look at Satan holding Elaine.

Before Satan can tighten his grip on Elaine’s neck, I sever only Satan’s arm touching Elaine.

Without touching Elaine at all, only Satan’s arm.

Simultaneously, I teleport Elaine to safety and then sever Satan’s head with space severance.

It would require extreme concentration, but it wasn’t impossible.

The current me could do it.

Probably.

“Huuuuh.”

I opened my eyes after exhaling a long sigh.

Woong-

Before the impatient Satan could make a move thinking I was too slow, I moved the space.

The space surrounding my right arm vibrated and trembled.

Of course, this wasn’t really a tremor for “severance.”

It was just the vibration of space opening for teleportation.

Satan, not understanding the principle of my ability, couldn’t notice the difference.

“Heh, hahahaha!”

Satan laughed wickedly as he saw the space around my right arm rippling and vibrating.

Woong-

I raised my head and stared intensely at Satan’s arm gripping Elaine’s neck, as if to pierce through it.

Not to blow away the entire space I was looking at, but precisely to sever only Satan’s arm within it.

I thought about it, again and again.

Only Satan’s arm, with no harm to Elaine.

“Wh-what!”

Without exaggeration, it felt like my head would explode and tears would stream from my eyes, but I endured.

The situation was unfolding according to my simulation.

Without harming Elaine, precisely Satan’s arm was sucked into the spatial rift, and Elaine, freed from Satan’s grasp, fell to the ground clutching her neck.

Now I just needed to rescue Elaine.

I was so dizzy I could barely maintain my balance, but I kept focusing on the situation.

And that’s when it happened.

Whoosh-

“Ah.”

Everything around Elaine suddenly darkened.

It wasn’t that the sun had suddenly disappeared.

Satan’s massive black mana had surrounded the area.

“You bastaaaaard!”

What followed was Satan’s roar.

This situation wasn’t in my plan.

Satan seemed to have noticed my intentions.

He caught on that I needed to see exactly where I wanted to teleport, so he completely darkened the surroundings.

It was a technique that consumed enormous energy and couldn’t be sustained for long, but even a momentary darkness was enough right now.

Because Elaine was right in front of Satan.

‘Damn it.’

“Die!”

Woong-

Along with a curse that rose to my throat, I opened the space.