Chapter 142: Demon God

In a typical story, there’s always a hero of justice who seeks freedom, and a demon king of absolute evil who aims to rule the world.

The hero stands on the side of justice, while the demon lord represents evil—a classic setup often used to indoctrinate cadets from an early age.

But reality isn’t so black and white.

 “Die, die! I said die!”

 [Follow the system.]

 [Do not resist fate.]

As the Demon King launched magic in a relentless barrage, the Protectors—now Ian’s summoned beasts—responded, pushing back against the onslaught.

True to her title, the Demon King held her ground. Even when cornered by six summoned beasts attacking in unison, she refused to fall.

Ian observed, listening to the Demon King’s desperate screams as she fought like a cornered animal. She was afraid. 

Afraid of dying.

‘What kind of Demon King fears death?’

Of course, all living beings fear death—no one exists just to die.

But this was the Demon King. A being supposedly programmed to hate humanity and slaughter humans without mercy…

‘Hey, if she were truly normal, there’s no way she could have corrupted the system in the first place.’

Ian stared at the Demon King. Though now cloaked in chaotic magic, she had appeared rather dignified just moments ago.

She seemed overly concerned with her appearance—odd behavior for someone who spawned grotesque monsters too horrifying to behold.

It was… almost human.

“Anna.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Is your special move ready?”

“…Sorry. I still can’t connect with God.”

“Right. Of course.”

The divine connection was still severed. A tainted god could no longer issue oracles.

How could they restore the system? First, they needed to eliminate the source of its corruption.

“The Blue Dragon, Black Turtle, and White Tiger!”

[Do not give orders!]

[We know what to do.]

Despite their protests, the Protectors unleashed their special moves per Ian’s intent. Elemental breaths surged from their mouths, each imbued with their unique spiritual essence.

The Demon King, already worn down from countless prior assaults, visibly faltered. Her protective barriers began to crack.

Empress and Theresia seized the opening.

“There’s nothing special about this Demon King,” Empress scoffed.

“Do we look like we’re playing around?” Theresia retorted.

With practiced coordination honed over years of battle, Empress shattered the barrier surrounding the Demon King, and Theresia drove her sword into the newly formed gaps.

Their synergy was seamless, like a painting in motion. The Demon King’s HP began to plummet.

 [Stop it, ahhhhh—aaaaaa!]

Finally overwhelmed, the Demon King unleashed a burst of power, desperate to escape.

But her enemies were no fools—they wouldn’t fall for the same tactics twice.

“Barrier, deploy!”

“She can’t escape.”

Empress and Black Turtle’s barrier snapped into place, trapping the Demon King once again.

Sensing the opportunity, the Blue Dragon and White Tiger prepared their coordinated strike.

 [Follow my lead.]

 [Hah, acting tough for a mere beast…]

 [Shut it. Just tear her apart.]

White Tiger’s claws, now crackling with electricity from the Blue Dragon’s current, began to glow red-hot. Trapped between opposing magnetic forces, the energy was hurled forward by a tremendous Lorentz force. (G: The Lorentz force is the force exerted on a charged particle moving in electromagnetic fields.)

A railgun, fueled by the combined power of two Protectors—its projectile alone weighed several tons. The impact was catastrophic.

The Demon King, crushed beneath the monstrous projectile, writhed in agony, still clawing at the ground in a futile attempt to survive.

 [No… I can’t die here… Not like this…]

“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with living… but it’s your time. Die properly.”

Ian gave the order for the final blow. All the summons moved in at once to finish her off.

But at that critical moment—the Demon King released something hidden. A long-suppressed ego.

 [If I must die… then let’s all die together.]

Suddenly, a status window materialized above her head.

 [LV. ??? Demon God]

“Oh, what now…?”

 [All die.]

Her voice had changed. Cold. Mechanical. And with it came a wave of devastating attacks—far more powerful than anything she had unleashed before.

Ian leapt back, retreating behind the Protectors, trying to understand what had just happened.

‘No way… she’s trying to commit su!cide?’

The idea was unthinkable. A god, defeated by the Demon King in a single strike? No. The system would never allow such a thing—gods were designed to be the most powerful entities in existence.

No demon king could destroy one in a fair fight.

That meant only one thing: the Demon King had corrupted the system itself. She had found a way to devour a god.

And now, she was using that power to drag everyone down with her.

After that, the Demon King, realizing she could not wield the power of God while maintaining her sanity, must have sealed the deity within herself—permanently.

Even though the Demon King corrupted and ruled over the system, this likely explains why she was never able to fully control it.

The system is the power of God. Unless one can completely absorb and internalize the divine, that power remains out of reach.

‘She has no self.’

The demon before him seemed to have lost the ego of the original Demon King. In the face of impending defeat and death, the Demon King discarded his sense of self and unleashed God’s power.

But a god cannot exist with an intact ego. Crushed by the overwhelming self of God, the Demon King’s consciousness was lost entirely.

‘The one who so desperately wanted to live…’

For someone who had gone to such lengths to avoid death, the moment she realized it was inevitable, she cast away her life without hesitation.

From a distance, Ian watched the demon god rampaging alone and shouted to his summoned beasts:

“Retreat!”

[What? Leave that here?]

“It’s already a ‘god’. There’s no need to fight anymore. Right? Isn’t that right?”

“…Yes. I can hardly believe it—that’s a god. I can feel it… I was connected to her once.”

Anna bit her lip as she spoke. The true nature of the god she had followed all this time had finally been revealed. She was in shock—but there was no time to process it.

Ian shouted again.

“What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“…God, grant us our wish.”

A wish to God. It was Anna’s Origin Art—one she could not use more than once a day.

Almost immediately, the demon god, still entangled with her lingering resentment, froze in place and fixed its gaze on Anna.

Her wish was simple: for everyone in their party to return safely to their original place.

The demon god granted it. Completely.

[Good night.]

In the next moment, all the summons were pulled back into Ian’s glyphs.

Startled, Ian looked down at the hole that had opened beneath his feet.

It was a fall without bottom or end.

As he plummeted, the demon god leapt in after him.

***

Great Canyon.

A place known for having the deepest cliffs on the continent.

A line of beautiful figures stood near the edge, their eyes wide open with awe.

“Here, right?”

“Yeah—it’s here.”

Syrah leaned over and peered into the abyss below. Those standing behind her flinched, afraid she might fall. But Syrah examined the hole casually and sighed.

“…I can’t see a thing.”

“As the name suggests—it’s a Grand Canyon. A place where neither light nor summons can explore.”

“Someone tried?”

“Of course. Summoners don’t die easily. They can explore places humans never could.”

“And? What happened?”

“They went mad. Both Summoners and summons.”

Stella instinctively raised the back of her hand as if to block a chill at the thought of people—and heroic beings—losing their minds just from gazing into the depths.

She summoned her own creature to test it herself.

“Ifrit.”

[Yes. Understood.]

The Fire Spirit King, Ifrit, sent a blazing stream of fire down the canyon. The flames, bursting with heat and light, disappeared after falling a certain distance.

Seeing this, Ifrit tilted her head, visibly panicked.

“What’s going on?”

[It’s not extinguished…]

“What? You didn’t put it out? It just vanished?”

[Let me try again. Stronger this time.]

Ifrit gathered all her strength and fired another blast of fire downward—bright and powerful enough to be seen from far away.

However, the moment it crossed a certain threshold, the flame vanished once again.

“Could there be water down there?”

[No. The fire wasn’t extinguished… it just disappeared. What is this…?]

“…We need to see what’s down there.”

But no matter how wide she opened her eyes, Syrah couldn’t see anything. The canyon hid its secrets well.

In the end, there was only one option—descend.

Down the cliff that drove people mad.

“Ifrit, help me. I’m going down.”

“Did you not hear me? Anyone who goes down there loses their mind.”

“I heard what Artia said. But if Ian is down there, then even if it’s hell—I’ll go.”

Just as Stella was about to leap from the cliff, something rose from the depths and caught her in its arms.

It soared upward, defying gravity, passed Stella and the others, and ascended into the sky.

“Ahhh!”

“…Ian?”

It was Ian.

As the group stared at him—bewildered as he rose into the sky—something dark emerged behind him.

[I curse you, world. All must die.]

The Demon God had descended into the world.