The Ring of Infinity. It was an item Ian Volkanov had taken from the Volkanov reports, but he hadn’t expected much from it.
After all, wasn’t the primary reason for bringing it along the inconvenience of carrying around the armor meant for Ariel Volkanov?
‘Using mana to carry it seemed inefficient, and since I managed to grab this, I figured I might as well take something useful.’
To Ian, the Ring of Infinity was little more than a substitute for an inventory. Naturally, he hadn’t thought to explore its intricate functionalities.
‘As long as it stored the items well, that was enough for me.’
However, while gathering various items before crossing into Astelgia, Ian discovered the ring’s true value.
‘To be exact, I mistook it for the Guardian’s Silver Ring and infused it with mana, which ended up being the turning point.’
At the time, Ian regretted wasting precious mana on what seemed like an empty effort. But while preparing for the expedition, as he activated its inventory function, something unusual occurred.
‘For some reason… the mana I infused back then had been stored within the ring.’
At that moment, Ian realized the true worth of the Ring of Infinity.
‘This ring wasn’t originally created to store objects… It was designed to preserve mana or absorb skills for later use.’
The inventory functionality was merely a secondary feature. Ian, however, had been using it entirely in reverse.
‘At least I figured out how to use it properly before facing Lucifer.’
From that moment, the Ring of Infinity was no longer just a storage device.
It became a powerful variable in combat, a game-changing item.
“What… what is this?!”
‘The fact that it could absorb Lucifer’s attack so effortlessly… Is this why it’s called the Ring of Infinity?’
Ian had managed to escape a critical situation with surprising ease.
As Lucifer’s decisive strike dissolved into nothingness, his pupils began to tremble.
He was clearly shocked. No doubt he had intended to finish Ian with that attack.
But Ian wasn’t planning to stop there.
“Surprised? What now? There’s more where that came from.”
“What nonsense are you spouting…?”
“Oh, it’s simple. Take your trash back.”
Ian touched the Ring of Infinity again, and the dark mana it had absorbed earlier materialized before him.
“Lo Aias.”
“What the hell are you thinking?!”
Lucifer’s eyes widened at Ian’s reckless action of deploying a defense barrier.
Lucifer couldn’t fathom Ian’s actions.
‘He must know this attack bypasses defenses. Why would he summon what he absorbed? Is he trying to hurt himself, or has he gone mad?’
Was he trying to harm himself? Or had he lost his mind?
In that moment, Ian even thought that. It was such an incomprehensible situation.
After all, it was a protective shield that couldn’t even block anything and would be shattered mercilessly. What was he believing in doing that?
‘Or maybe. He had some other plan?’
Honestly, he still didn’t know why he took out the mana directly.
But he must not let his guard down.
Didn’t Leviathan say that as well?
‘Ian Volkanov is an unstoppable guy. He can turn any given situation into a variable…’
Even if he couldn’t understand it now, Ian wasn’t the kind of guy to do such things without thinking.
With that thought, Lucifer quickly tried to respond.
Kwaaang!
“Kkuuhak!”
Unfortunately, there was no way for Lucifer to stop Ian.
The attack that hit Lo Aias was reflected back to Lucifer due to its reflective nature.
“Kuhk! Damn!”
Lucifer let out a continuous stream of sobbing from his mouth as the attack was reflected back to him.
Ian, watching Lucifer from a distance, just smiled as if it was amusing.
‘No matter how he thought about it, Lucifer couldn’t understand. Absorbing the attack, and then summoning it again.’
But, as Ian thought, there was another situation that Lucifer couldn’t understand from his position.
‘An attack containing the power to ignore defenses… how did he reflect it with Lo Aias… that must be it.’
No matter how strong the protective shield was, it shouldn’t be able to ignore divine powers.
However, if it’s the power that’s the problem, couldn’t he just eliminate it?
‘The Ring of Infinity has one drawback. When it absorbs a skill, it becomes a Ruination Tablet.’
Interestingly, the Ring of Infinity’s drawback turned out to be a great help.
He had absorbed Lucifer’s attack, and in doing so, the power to ignore defenses was removed and stored.
Since it was stored as a Ruination Tablet, the elimination of the power was inevitable. However, its immense destructive power remained intact.
‘Without the power, there’s no attack that Lo Aias couldn’t block.’
The reflected damage was Lucifer’s burden. Ian gave a slight smile and drew his sword again.
‘Phase one is over… phase two begins.’
***
Actually, Ian was quite worried about the boss battle with Lucifer.
After all, since Lucifer had obtained the power of a demon, he had never faced him in battle before.
‘Lucifer is strong, but more importantly, by obtaining the power, his patterns have changed from what I knew. That was the real problem.’
If the opponent were something like Azidahaka in a game, there wouldn’t have been much to worry about.
But in a battle against Lucifer, whose changes Ian didn’t fully understand, he decided to approach cautiously at first.
Rather than rushing in, Ian focused on observing Lucifer’s movements.
‘Contrary to my concerns, it seems like he does follow certain patterns.’
Ian narrowed his eyes, watching Lucifer intently.
To his surprise, Lucifer’s patterns hadn’t drastically changed.
While a few additional moves had been introduced, they were mostly part of his combos, with the fundamental attack buildup remaining the same.
‘If it’s like this, I can be confident. His base remains unchanged.’
Lucifer’s core movements were still intact, with only minor adjustments to a few actions.
This could make it seem like Lucifer’s movements were entirely within Ian’s grasp. However, it wasn’t so simple.
Just because the base was similar didn’t mean Lucifer’s actions were identical to what Ian remembered.
‘Even now, for instance.’
Lucifer wielded a massive greatsword, at least three meters long, slashing it recklessly seven times.
In Ian’s memory, Lucifer would take a step back after seven swings, then dash forward with a wide horizontal slash.
But this time, Lucifer’s movements were different.
Boom! Crash!
He leapt in place, stepped back as before, but instead of charging forward, Lucifer plunged his sword into the ground.
Rumble! Boom, Boom, Boom!
“Ugh! He must be really furious. Ian, be careful!”
“Yes, Hexar, you too!”
The ground exploded, scattering shards imbued with dark mana.
The fragments, responding to Lucifer’s command, turned into individual bombs, triggering a chain of explosions.
“Everyone, come this way!”
“Phew… If Valhalla hadn’t been deployed in time, we would’ve been caught in the blast. Well done, Glendia!”
Illian chuckled dryly, shaking his head.
The once-majestic Demon King’s castle, where the battle had been taking place, was gone. Before them lay a desolate, ruined land.
The massive explosion had obliterated the entire castle.
The sheer power was astonishing.
Even Glendia’s protective magic, Valhalla, which had shielded the party, had accumulated damage.
Crack!
Despite Ariel’s assistance in maintaining the barrier, Valhalla was riddled with cracks, on the verge of shattering.
Glendia, flustered by the absurdity of the situation, quickly assessed the barrier’s condition.
She understood there was no time to complain.
“This is bad.”
“Can it be restored?”
“Hmm… It’ll take some time to reestablish the barrier.”
“Can it be fixed?”
“With enough time, I think so.”
Glendia hesitated, unable to give a definitive answer.
Her skill, Valhalla, created a space that protected against external attacks.
However, if the accumulated damage wasn’t repaired, even a re-cast barrier would break almost immediately.
‘In a situation where Lucifer’s patterns aren’t fully understood, invincibility skills are essential.’
It was critical to preserve Valhalla. Ian glanced at Glendia and spoke.
“If it’s too much, pause the buffs and focus on repairing the barrier. I’ll buy some time in the meantime.”
“…I’m sorry, but I’ll leave it to you, Ian.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. We’re a team, after all.”
As long as Glendia fulfilled her role as the saint protecting the party, there was no reason to blame her.
It was disappointing to lose buffs for a while, but Ian had no complaints.
‘I’m not the Hero. I’m not Ariel. I can’t think of draining my comrades dry.’
Only Ariel had the right to receive their support unconditionally.
Ian saw himself as someone who should provide help, not take it.
If necessary, Ian resolved to handle things on his own.
Nodding calmly, Ian reached for a different ring—not the Ring of Infinity.
‘Neltalion, take a break for now.’
– Okay! Call me if you need me, alright?
‘Yes.’
This time, Ian intended to wield the Guardian’s Silver Ring, summoning its divine power, which was particularly effective against Lucifer.
[The Guardian’s Silver Ring has been activated! The user’s attribute is changing from Darkness to Light.]
[Due to an incompatible attribute with the Demon Sword Rebrion, a debuff is applied. Mental Corruption is beginning!]
[Unyielding Will has been activated! Resisting Mental Corruption!]
At that moment, overwhelming divine energy enveloped Ian’s body.
