Falling…
There was no floor.
The abyss was infinite, and the fall seemed eternal.
Minutes, hours, or even days—how long had it been?
When the sensation of separation between mind and body took hold, the blinding sunlight suddenly awakened his consciousness.
“Ahhhh!”
When he came to, Ian was falling from the sky.
Anyone would scream in this situation.
As he soared, screaming like a startled girl, a voice called up to hum from below.
“Ian!?”
Turning his head slightly, he glanced down.
Stella and the wives were staring up at him with blank expressions.
‘Why are they here?’
Ian, now regaining awareness midair, tried to make sense of the situation. Then, it hit him—he had been fighting the Demon King.
“Empress!”
He immediately summoned one of his summons and halted his fall, floating in place as he looked back at the hole he had emerged from.
And sure enough, a moment later, the demon followed.
[Die, die— all must die.]
With its arrival, the Demon God unleashed an intense wave of malice, magical energy radiating from her body like a curse on the world itself.
Sensing this aura, the wives quickly summoned their own creatures to engage the demon.
“Ifrit!”
“Dim!”
“Violet Mamba!”
“Phoenix!”
Though they were powerful enough to defeat lesser demons in an instant, against this foe, their strength was like grasshoppers before a blazing sun.
Ultimately, their only option was to defend themselves.
“Blue Dragon! White Tiger! Black Turtle! Hurry, stop that thing!”
Isn’t that asking a bit much?
Despite their complaints, the Protectors appeared before the god of death.
Phoenix burst out laughing as she glanced at her fellow divine beasts—summons who, like her, had once been gods.
[Hahaha! Weren’t you all so adamant about not being bound to the system?]
[The system’s broken now. This is an exception.]
[Yeah, sure. Looks like you’ve fallen just like me! Excellent!]
Laughing heartily, Phoenix was the first to charge at the Demon God. Unlike the others, she had regained a portion of her original power through leveling up.
Naturally, she now boasted the greatest strength among the Protectors. Flames like miniature suns surged from his body as she clashed with the demon.
[Protectors… fulfill your roles!]
The Demon God demanded.
[And what role would that be?]
[To maintain the balance of the world! Not to defy the gods!]
[We are maintaining balance—right now.]
With that declaration, Blue Dragon released a blast of lightning toward the demon.
However, with its power reduced to less than 10% of its original might, the attack barely singed the enemy.
Though both were called Protectors, the gap between their strength and the demon’s was vast.
“Syrah!”
“Yes, Ian!”
“Do it!”
And Ian knew how to close that gap.
Syrah’s summon, the Blue Bird, activated its special ability: an Origin Art that allowed it to combine its own level with the level of allied summons and momentarily unlock high-tier summons’ full potential, even bypassing system limitations.
Having received this power repeatedly, Phoenix wielded it with practiced ease, her strength surging.
[Die, false god!]
[These creatures… they seek to escape the system!]
The Demon God’s true nature was laid bare—it was once a god, obsessed with managing and protecting the world it created.
Now, warped by hatred—especially the Demon King’s—its divine instincts merged with malevolence into something monstrous.
[I will wipe it all away and begin anew. From zero!]
The declaration rang out in a voice filled with both love and hatred.
Power capable of erasing the world began to concentrate in the Demon God’s hand.
A single gesture would reduce existence to nothingness.
“Stop him!”
At that moment, Artia intervened.
The divine energy wielded by the gods was scattered, and the Yellow Dragon—created in the belief that the gods would act righteously—appeared.
Artia, who had remained hidden until now, stepped forward to join the Protectors and blocked the Demon God’s path.
[God, how did you fall so far?]
[Fallen? Me? You are the corrupted ones. All of you, vile creatures.]
Artia said nothing more. She recognized that the being before her was no longer the god who created her nor the one who assigned her mission.
Her silence was her answer.
She was created to represent the gods—thus, her presence now affirmed their absence.
[I, the Yellow Dragon Artia, as representative of the divine… reject the gods.]
With that solemn vow, the Protectors, including Artia, the Yellow Dragon, launched their assault against the Demon God.
***
The battle between the 5-star summons and the Demon God unleashed devastating shockwaves across the continent.
Summoners, resting after prior battles in distant lands, felt the trembling power and began to converge on the Grand Canyon.
First to arrive were the Dukes—those rare summoners who possessed 4-star summons, each bonded with a Spirit King.
“…What in the world…?”
Duke Terra, protector of the western region, stepped through the teleport gate and froze.
Countless explosions streaked through the sky, turning it crimson.
As a 4-star summoner, he could imitate a portion of such power, but never on this overwhelming scale.
“Duke Therra! Since you’re here, don’t just stand around—lend a hand!”
“Huh? Wha—”
“Hurry!”
Another summoner, already on the battlefield, snapped him to attention.
Without even grasping the situation, Duke Therra summoned his spirit beast.
The Spirit King of Earth, Therium, materialized—and immediately stuck out his tongue in astonishment.
[What’s going on here?]
“I’m not entirely sure either…”
[Didn’t you summon me first? Tch. Well, since they are on our side, I’ll deal with the enemy.]
Theraum sided with the Protectors, having sensed the dark energy radiating from the demon.
However, as the Spirit King of the Earth, he was handicapped—he had no footing in the air. His powers were virtually useless against enemies soaring through the sky.
At best, he could hurl boulders upward. And even then, he had to take care not to hit his allies.
[Oh, you’re here?]
[Ifrit! What’s going on?]
[Long story…]
Ifrit, who had joined the battle early, began to recount everything she had witnessed, learned, and deduced.
[The one you’re fighting now is a god—and the one fighting alongside you is a 5-star Summon.]
[…Did I hear that wrong?]
[You heard right. Now that everyone has gathered…]
[Everyone?]
[The 4 Spirit Kings and even the Protectors. All the giants who normally wouldn’t appear together have gathered here.}
As Ifrit spoke, she gestured toward the other Spirit Kings already engaged in battle—Tempest, King of the Wind Spirits, and Elquines, King of the Water Spirits.
Unlike on land, there were no movement penalties in the air.
Ifrit ignited a flame and called out to the others.
[Everyone, gather!]
[What’s going on?]
[I’m in the middle of a fight right now…]
[That fight isn’t important.]
[Are you all here?]
As soon as Ifrit gathered the Elemental Spirit Kings, Ian, leading the front line, appeared.
The Spirit Kings looked at Ian curiously, tilting their heads.
[Who’s that?]
[You haven’t seen him before? He is Ian—my partner’s partner. And… the contractor of the divine beasts currently in the fight.]
[…What?]
“No time for talk. The reason I gathered you here—it’s to defeat him.”
Ian pointed toward the Demon God, who was withstanding attacks from countless summons with disturbing ease.
The spirits looked at Ian in disbelief.
Defeat a god?
But Ian only shrugged casually.
“To bring him down, here’s the plan…”
The Spirit Kings began listening attentively.
***
[Die—die—DIE!]
The Demon God’s fury exploded. Her wrath transformed into magic, sweeping across the battlefield. Despite the efforts of the 5-star summons, including the Protectors, they couldn’t fully block the destruction.
Scattered by the blast, the Protectors exchanged glances, searching for a way to stop the fallen god.
[How can we fight this…? At this rate—]
[Just hold the line for now. We can’t win… but—]
Just then, White Tiger paused, picking up a signal from his summoner.
[…Wait, he says he has a way to win.]
[A way to win, really?]
[Yes. Well—there’s nothing to lose. Let’s trust him this once.]
Hearing Ian’s strategy, the Protectors shifted formation. Until now, they had fought without coordination, but now they moved in unison, following precise tactics.
The Demon God sneered at the sudden discipline.
[Trying harder now, are you? Too late. But it’s not a bad thing… to crush hope.]
She gathered her mana—compressing it, condensing it—until it became a singular force of annihilation.
This wasn’t like the earlier attacks that Artia had blocked. This one could destroy an entire world.
Just as the blast neared completion, the Demon God sensed something behind her.
[Ha! A by-product of nature?]
[We are not by-products!]
Ifrit stepped forward, holding an orb infused with the collective energy of the Four Spirit Kings.
It was potent, even deadly. Even a Demon God would do best to avoid it.
“Take this!”
The Demon God locked onto the glowing sphere flying toward her. Calmly, she teleported away, completely evading its path.
As the orb soared harmlessly into the sky, she let out a victorious laugh.
[Hahaha! Was that all?]
[Yes. That was it.]
[…]
[This is how it ends.]
Having used all her strength, Ifrit plummeted toward the ground. She could no longer fly.
The Demon God tilted her head—until she sensed something else.
Artia stood firm, orb now in her hands, glaring with fierce determination.
[You d*mn god—take this. This is our final attack!]
Artia absorbed the orb’s power. Channeling the combined might of the Protectors and the Four Spirit Kings, she activated her Origin Art:
The Dragon Breath—a cataclysmic flame that incinerates all.
As it surged forth, the Demon God countered with her full force of magic.
[Still resisting, even now—!]
Two world-ending powers collided. Space warped, dimensions twisted, and reality cracked.
The Demon God grinned.
The Dragon Breath’s intensity was waning.
Victory was near. When the blast faded, both the Protectors and the Spirit Kings would be depleted and revert to glyphs.
And with humanity’s strongest 5-star and 4-star summons gone, their defeat would be inevitable.
Or, so she thought.
“Ahhhhh—!”
From the unstable tear in space, a spell erupted.
Through that rip stepped Empress, chanting.
The Demon God, locked in battle with the Dragon Breath, couldn’t resist.
She was pulled in.
[What!?]
The gaping void devoured her.
The moment she fell through the dimensional breach, the demon lost consciousness.
***
A dark realm, devoid of light.
The Demon God stirred, slowly opening her eyes.
[…Where…?]
Grrrr…
A beast’s growl echoed.
She turned—and froze.
[Lv. 999 Moon-Devouring Wolf]
[…No. What is this place?]
The moment she recognized the beast, it lunged.
The wolf bit into her, effortlessly tearing her head off and severing her body.
God or demon—it didn’t matter here.
In the Infinite Dungeon of Greed, even deities were prey.
***
Back on the battlefield, Ian let out a long breath of relief.
“Taste humanity’s malice.”
That place—the dungeon—is fatal to a demon. The deeper one descends, the more monstrous and twisted they become.
Not long after, Anna cautiously approached.
“…Master.”
“What is it?”
“The signal has arrived. It’s done.”
At that, Ian smiled faintly.
The Demon God is dead. The system, once tainted, has returned to its original state.
And that could only mean one thing…
[Ta-ta-da~]
[Congratulations!]
[You have succeeded in defeating the Demon King and saving the world.]
He could finally return to Earth.