The elite were selected. The Awakened that were praised as the world’s best.

They were raised as secret weapons...

They knew how to fight.

The Awakened also knew how to fight against someone stronger than themselves.

They would be able to endure in any situation in order to produce the best results.

They were people designed to survive in even the most adverse conditions.

Thanks to that, they didn’t know defeat and only felt pride in their abilities.

There were no opponents that they couldn’t overcome over time, just like water eroding a rock.

However, that was all wishful thinking in front of this opponent.

Not rock, but harder than steel...they were facing a wall that they couldn’t surpa.s.s.

“Cough!”

Death spread. There were those who couldn’t even make a sound before dying. The thing they all had in common was that they ran towards the man with a weapon.

The man was cruel. He really shed no blood or tears!

He showed no mercy. One move would take a life. He didn’t miss a single one of their movements. Still, he didn’t show any reaction. His expression was just like he was ‘playing with them.’

"Pharma's Arrows!”

There were only three people with weapons raised remaining.

A female with the occupation of archer used a skill. All of the magic power in the surroundings gathered on the arrowhead. It burned violently and intensely.

"Accurate Shot!”

A unique skill that antic.i.p.ated the movements of the enemy.

Soon, the arrow went flying through the air.

Hwaruruk!

However, that was also useless.

The arrow was burned by a strong flame before even reaching the man’s body.

The Awakened with the bow widened her eyes. It was the first time that this technique had been blocked. However, that panic only lasted for a short moment. She quickly calmed her mind and prepared for the next attack.

No, she tried to prepare.

She placed her hand on the bow. It was the last thing she remembered.

Kwaduk!

Mysterious lightning popped out from the man. The lightning in the form of a dragon swallowed the woman and instantly turned her to ashes. It looked like a dragon eating it prey.

“Stop...! Stop now!”

Yoo Eun-hye shouted. Five people had died in only one minute. If she didn’t do anything, then the surviving members would die. She couldn’t help but realize that.

The man turned his head towards her. He looked interested.

“They are trying to kill me. What reason do I have to stop?”

"It isn’t fair!”

"Why does fairness need to be involved in killing?”

His words were correct.

In the current world, there was little room for fairness when it came to death.

Those who thought about fairness would be buried in the ground.

The good died quickly and the wicked survived.

In this sense, Yoo Eun-hye was one of the few people remaining with a conscience.

"Isn’t it too cruel that one mistake could cost them their lives? You have the capacity to show generosity.”

Yoo Eun-hye admitted it.

He was the captain of Devil Hunters and the Saviour...along with the fact that he was a demon.

The team members couldn’t understand his skill. He sometimes showed signs of some moves that he used in the past. Thus, she couldn’t escape the reality.

Yoo Eun-hye rose from her spot. Armed with a steel mentality, she was determined to reduce the damage as much as possible. The past was the past. In a world where every minute and second counted, there wasn’t much room to dwell in the past.

“If I show generosity then will what you give me?”

An exchange.

Yoo Eun-hye inwardly thought.

He would do what he wanted to anyway.

No one here could stop him. It was impossible, even if Edward and Yoo Eun-hye joined together. She didn’t know if they could grab his collar.

The strong had rights.

However, he didn’t use those rights.

This was a chance...

She held onto the desire to save her team members.

"I'll give you this piece. I obtained it through the training room.”

When he was the Saviour, he gave Yoo Eun-hye a ticket to enter the training room before he left. She was able to obtain an object from that room.

Edward was the same. Just in case, she handed over both pieces to him.

He politely received the pieces. His expression didn’t change.

"This is something I let you hold for a while. It does not count as an exchange.”

“Then what would you like? Actually, coming to this place...”

She was filled with resentment. Yoo Eun-hye grinded her teeth together.

Come to think of it.

Why was he here?

Only those who knew about it were involved.

Even if he gave the information to the British Government, he couldn’t have known about their plan.

Yet, he had been waiting in advance. It meant someone had handed him the information.

If so...perhaps he was looking for Hope.

"Hope, are you going to take it?”

"It seems you really are smart.”

Indeed!

His goal was Hope.

A bomb made by humans in order to wipe out the demons and creatures.

Advanced creatures and demons couldn’t tolerate a few nuclear bombs. There was an investigation about their relations.h.i.+p to magic power. Thus, the incorporation of magic items and cores made it more effective.

There were also many who died through the ‘self-sacrifice’ skill. All the magic power, holy power, and the dead were poured into Hope.

Hope was an item that couldn’t be recreated.

He knew about the existence of Hope and planned from the beginning.

Yoo Eun-hye bit her lip. She turned and glanced at Hope.

Should she take her life to deal with him?

She had no chance of winning. But to have Hope taken away...

"I know what you are thinking. But you don't need to worry. My purpose is to kill all the other demons.”

She knew that the demons were split into factions and the relations.h.i.+ps among them weren’t good. But even if he used Hope to get rid of them, he would still remain. She couldn’t be a.s.sured until she knew of his true purpose.

"Then what will you do?”

"I’m not greedy for Earth.”

He wasn’t greedy for Earth after invading?

What type of sophistry was this?

If he wasn’t greedy, then he shouldn’t have come in the first place.

Yoo Eun-hye stared at him with disbelief.

To be honest, right now she had no idea who ‘Randalph Brigsiel’ was.

What was his true self?

“I will beat all the remaining grand dukes and returned to the Demon World as the devil. Earth is just the arena for our struggle. All the demons want the destruction of Earth except for me.”

“...Isn’t this just bad luck?”

They had come to Earth for an entirely different reason. It was absurd.

"Yes."

However, he didn’t deny it.

“I can’t believe it. You sound different from other demons. Then why did you kill my team members? You must have been able to spare them.”

He laughed.

“Don’t misunderstand. I am a demon. Don’t imagine some quality of goodness that I don’t have. Unlike other demons, I am not interested in the destruction of the Earth. Why should I not kill those who go against me?”

"Then why are the other demons...?”

“Demons have hated humans for a long time. They envy the freedom of your short lives and the incessant changes. I don’t have such strong feelings against Earth, but I am still a demon.”

"Didn’t you pretend to be human? You led Devil Hunters. How could you do that if you hate humans?”

"I wanted to give humans strength. Then, I would use you for my own purpose.”

He took one step closer. He was silent for a moment before continuing.

"I am a solitary demon. Unlike other grand dukes, I don’t have a faction. While they are focused on short-term goals, I have no choice but to make a long-term investment. In that sense, humans are very useful. I was sure that human swords would eventually reach the necks of other demons.”

Ddubeok.

The sound of his footsteps were exceptionally loud.

Yoo Eun-hye took a step back and asked through cracked lips.

"The human potential surpa.s.ses that of demons. I hate to admit it, but it is true. However, the attacks of the demons would be too fierce in the beginning. I kept you from them, gave you a hard time, and increased your experience. I also imitated human behaviour to lead you. Of course, I hadn’t expected other demons to invade my territory while I was away.”

“Perhaps...”

Ahh. That was it.

South Korea's dungeon.

“I am Randalph Brigsiel. I am a demon, one of the four grand dukes, ruler of the Underground World...Dungeon Master.”

There were more.

The leader of Devil Hunters. Saviour!

Those were other words that could represent him.

He didn’t bring it up because Yoo Eun-hye already knew.

Then, he spoke again with an arrogant expression.

"I am your hope.”