A sweltering heat wave swept across the ground.
It surged toward Aurtaican and his army.
The hottest flame since the world’s creation scorched the demons.
“Never back down!”
Even with death approaching, Aurtaican was still one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
A single demon who had once held the entire southern region under his control.
The sword most trusted by the Demon King.
He would not falter!
He could not break!
“Die here!”
“Exterminate humanity!”
A single sword shattered. Then it split again—into four, into eight, into sixteen—eleven more times, and five after that.
Thirty-six thousand five hundred blades scattered through the air, raining down upon the summoned beasts.
The sheer power could bring down even high-ranking summons in a single blow.
The Phoenix’s body, struck by the entirety of the attack, was torn into tens of thousands of pieces.
“Kiruu!”
“Die, you damn firebird!”
The Phoenix’s heart was torn apart.
Having discovered the Phoenix’s essence, Aurtaican hurled himself toward it.
If the essence collapsed, even a 5-star summon would not be able to maintain its form.
“You’re so stupid.”
But his opponent was no ordinary enemy—this was the main character.
The Phoenix, the Phoenix who governed healing and regeneration among the Four Divines, was famed for its immortality.
Even when reduced to tens of thousands of pieces, it could not die.
In the blink of an eye, the Phoenix regained its human form and unleashed a burst of flames aimed at Aurtaican, who had flown directly into its path.
“It was bothersome to get close, so this works out.”
“Whoa!?”
The flame consumed his body—a fire of annihilation, a curse that halted all regeneration.
Even one of the Four Heavenly Kings, despite his vitality, could not recover from such a wound.
But even as his skin melted, his muscles burned, and his bones creaked—Aurtaican did not give up.
Beyond the body—through will.
Beyond the spirit—with the strength of the soul.
Ancient convictions and unshakable resolve guided his blade.
“Die!”
Aurtaican’s weapon aimed directly for The Phoenix’s core.
With a light sigh, The Phoenix took the strike directly, ignoring the blade that pierced through it. It reached out and placed its palm on his chest.
The boiling heat within her shifted.
“Now, let’s end this.”
A flame born from the creation of the world erupted—straight into Aurtaican’s heart.
***
The Phoenix stood over Aurtaican’s ashes, preparing a final strike.
It admired the vitality of the Four Heavenly Kings, even in defeat.
Flames fluttered around it as it readied itself to reduce even the ashes to nothing—
Until Stella stood before her.
“Wait.”
“What is it, Duchess?”
“Let me have him.”
“Oh? Are you trying to steal my prey?”
“Please. Let me handle the last part.”
“…I’ll count this as a favor owed.”
“Thank you.”
The Phoenix studied Stella’s eyes carefully. It knew well what Stella had endured—and what Aurtaican meant to her.
With a soft sigh, The Phoenix stepped back.
Stella summoned Ifrit and approached Aurtaican’s scorched remains.
She kicked the lifeless body and screamed, like releasing steam from a pressure valve.
“You! What did you do!? Did you know!?”
Boom!
Each kick scattered blackened flesh—like remnants of the demons’ souls dispersing into the wind.
Only when blood-like sap oozed from the corpse did Stella, exhausted, step away.
Even Ifrit, her 4-star summon, stood by silently.
“Ifrit.”
“Stella.”
“Please…”
“…Go rest over there.”
With that, Ifrit led her to a nearby tent.
During the war against the demons, losing a 4-star summoner was a devastating blow—but no one chased after her.
Later, Ifrit returned to Aurtaican’s remains.
She looked down and kicked the defeated Four Heavenly King.
“You should’ve lived a better life.”
The Spirit King of Fire.
She summoned the Primordial Flame.
Then, without hesitation, she incinerated Aurtaican’s body.
Afterward, she turned to confront the remaining minor demons.
“…Stella.”
From the psychic link, Stella’s emotions trickled through.
That day, for the first time, the Spirit King of Fire shed tears.
***
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Who do you think I am?”
The war was over.
The damage from the demons had been immense—but humanity could recover.
At least, in a world now free of demons.
With the Demon King gone, the demon continent was slowly being purified.
Humanity had finally seized a world without demons.
One day, they would rule the planet entirely.
“If you’re really okay…”
“By the way, Ian, what are you going to do now?”
“…what am I going to do?”
“You should get married, right?”
Stella spoke gently, voicing her concern for Ian’s future.
After all, he had defeated the Demon King.
He had driven out the demon army.
Ian now had to marry.
The bride had already been decided.
‘I don’t have time for this…’
But it was a promise to the Emperor. There was no postponing it now. He had already exhausted all excuses for delay, and he couldn’t just ignore the Emperor’s orders—not even for the sake of some so-called heaven that might not even exist.
When Ian brewed a tea he didn’t like, Stella—who had a pretty good idea of what was going on—watched him cough and blush.
“Ahem—uh, Ian?”
“…What?”
“You’re not happy about marrying the princess, are you?”
“Would you be?”
“Then… what about me?”
“…What?”
Ian blinked, wondering if he’d misheard her. He dug a finger in his ear, confused.
But Stella, as if she’d already committed to the idea once, gathered her courage and pointed at him.
“Me! How about marrying me?”
“…What? Why all of a sudden?”
“What do you mean, all of a sudden! I’ve been giving you signals for ages!”
It wasn’t untrue.
She—and several other women—had been making their feelings quite obvious.
Ian wasn’t oblivious. He had definitely noticed the signals coming from all directions.
But he’d pushed them all away. He thought he would defeat the Demon King and leave anyway—he didn’t want to give or receive any affection that might become a burden.
But now? He didn’t even know when—or if—he’d return home.
There was no longer any reason to distance himself. And compared to a spoiled princess he’d barely spoken to, Stella—whom he’d seen both in-game and in real life—was clearly the better choice.
After a long moment of thought, Ian looked down at Stella.
She, noticing the change in his expression, quickly turned her head and began to mutter an excuse.
“N-no, it’s just—look, I’m a duchess now, right? Running a duchy alone is hard… And there’ll be loads of lowlifes trying to claim the duke’s seat. But if I marry you, all those problems vanish overnight…”
“Great.”
“I’m not doing this for selfish reasons! I mean, if you’d rather marry Noah or someone else, I—huh?”
“Let’s get married, Stella.”
“Wh-what?”
She stared at him, clearly caught off guard. She hadn’t expected Ian to accept her offer.
Ian, meanwhile, casually reached into his pocket.
Inside his inventory, connected to his pocket, countless items—mostly junk—were piled up. He’d hunted more demons than he could count, and some of them had dropped bizarre things. Among them was a diamond ring—useless in the game but apparently not so now.
“Even if our love began in the strangest way… as long as this contract stands, I will be a husband who truly loves you.”
“Huh?”
“Well then—Stella. As your husband, I have just one question for you.”
Stella swallowed hard and leaned in to hear him.
Would he ask how many children she wanted? How many he wanted?
She could bear as many as he wished…
“How many concubines can I have?”
“…What?”
Stella’s eyes widened. Even a couple madly in love wouldn’t survive a question like that on their wedding night.
But Ian was dead serious. Thinking she hadn’t heard him, he opened his mouth again.
“So, how many additional wives—?”
“You crazy b*stard!”
Before he could finish, Stella slapped him across the face.
***
“Hmm. So you decided to go through with it in the end?”
The Emperor groaned, eyeing Ian after hearing the news of his upcoming marriage to Stella.
He had planned to marry Ian to the princess, tying him to the imperial family. But instead, Ian had chosen the duke.
From the Empire’s perspective, it wasn’t necessarily a bad outcome. But from the Emperor’s viewpoint, it was an unsettling development.
In this age where power dictated status, if someone strong enough to slay a Demon King chose not to join the imperial family, people might start asking who should rule.
“I can’t crush the love of youth for the sake of my own ambition. Ivenoah will be very disappointed, but… hmm. Or should we make the Duchess your second wife?”
“That’s actually why I’m here, Your Majesty.”
“Oh?”
Ian coughed, a little embarrassed, and finally got to the point.
“…How many wives I can have—I’ll leave that decision to Your Majesty.”
“…What?”