In Ian’s hand, the brilliance radiating from him made Rebrion momentarily appear like Elysion.
At that moment, Lucifer realized what they were thinking.
‘They intend to entrust the saint to the hero’s protection while she restores the barrier… And Ian Volkanov will take Ariel Volkanov’s place in the meantime.’
It seemed reasonable. Considering Ian had grown significantly since the last revelation, it wouldn’t be easy for him to replicate the hero’s strike.
However, given his strength, comparable to that of a Master, and his track record, it wasn’t an arrogant assumption.
After all, hadn’t Lucifer suffered under him countless times already?
‘I can’t underestimate him. If he’s stepping forward like this, it must mean he has confidence.’
Having been thwarted numerous times, and especially given the humiliation he suffered just minutes ago when his attack was countered, Lucifer had no reason to relax his vigilance.
“I admit my mistake. From this point on, I’ll consider you as equals. So…”
Withstand this.
The moment he finished speaking, Lucifer gripped his greatsword.
Boom!
“Jump? Hexar, get out of the way!”
Leaping into the air, Lucifer swung his sword toward Hexar.
As Lucifer’s attack, slicing through the air with a deafening sound, approached, Hexar tried to time his evasion, having somewhat adjusted to Lucifer’s speed.
“I see it—ah! What kind of speed is this?!”
“Don’t even think about reading my speed!”
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Lucifer abruptly slowed down during his high-speed movement, twisting Hexar’s calculations, and his sword made direct contact with Hexar’s body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Aaaargh!”
Lucifer’s attack didn’t stop there.
The path he had traveled became tainted with demonic energy, which began to explode moments later.
Caught off guard by Lucifer’s erratic attack patterns and now engulfed by the explosions, Hexar was in a dire situation.
No matter how extraordinary Hexar’s durability was, this was not an attack he could withstand.
“Grrgh!”
“Hey, are you alright? Snap out of it!”
Hexar, now ablaze with flames infused with demonic energy, let out anguished groans.
Illian quickly rushed forward, dragging him to the rear, but Hexar’s condition was already critical.
His skin had turned a sinister red, with no unscathed areas, and patches of his flesh had burned and melted away, exposing his bones in some places.
Momentarily shocked, Ian quickly restrained Lucifer using Ether and rushed to Hexar to activate his Super Regeneration ability.
However…
‘It’s… ineffective.’
Neltalion’s authority, which usually enabled miraculous regeneration as long as the target was breathing, was failing to heal Hexar’s burns for some reason.
The implication was clear: only one possibility remained.
‘Could it be… his authority is interfering with even Neltalion’s power?’
The divine authority Lucifer had acquired seemed to dominate even the power of the divine authority in Ian’s possession.
Realizing this, Ian couldn’t help but show a look of despair.
He could only stand there, helpless, watching his gravely injured companion.
Frustrated and unsure of what to do, Ian clenched his fists. Illian, noticing Ian’s distress, stepped in to calm him.
“Hey! Ian! Pull yourself together. I’ll take care of this.”
“Take care of it? How?”
“The high elves of the Great Forest have healing magic passed down only among them. I can at least prevent the burns from worsening. The effects won’t be great, but… if I get Glendia’s help, we should be able to stop his condition from deteriorating.”
Though Glendia was busy restoring Valhalla, she was still renowned as the foremost expert in holy magic in Edenria.
She might not have time for a full healing spell, but she could certainly assist with supportive healing.
“I’ll heal him with Glendia’s help, so don’t worry about him… Instead, can you do me a favor?”
“You want me to stop Lucifer?”
“Yes. I’m counting on you.”
It might have been an unreasonable burden to place on Ian, but there was no alternative.
“I’ll handle it. Please take care of him.”
Illian, nodding in response, picked up Hexar and leapt toward the rear.
“Ariel, I’ll deal with Lucifer. Can you intercept any attacks heading toward the rear?”
“Understood! Don’t worry about it.”
Reconfirming Ariel’s role just in case, Ian refocused on the battle.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion erupted from behind, prompting Ian to glance back.
There, he saw…
Swoosh!
“Don’t think for a second that a mere creature like you can stop me, Ian Volkanov.”
Lucifer gritted his teeth as the Ether that had restrained him dissipated, leaving him furious.
As he let his demonic energy run rampant, Ian responded by surging his mana in defiance.
***
Now, with no distractions, Ian Volkanov faced Lucifer one-on-one.
Lucifer didn’t hesitate and charged, swinging his massive greatsword.
“Come, Ian Volkanov!”
Slash, slash, slash!
A three-hit combo with a sword larger than his own body.
While the attacks themselves were simple, any sword practitioner would agree, the combined strength of a transcendent body and demonic power made them anything but trivial.
‘I can’t block this. I need to dodge.’
Ian understood this well. Instead of parrying or attempting a counterattack, he stepped back to evade.
Swish, swish, swish!
Leaping nimbly to safety, Ian avoided the strikes. Yet, he couldn’t afford to relax—he had to keep thinking, calculating Lucifer’s next move.
‘I know Lucifer’s boss patterns from the game. Usually, after a three-hit combo, he follows up with a random attack pattern.’
The most common follow-up was a horizontal slash, but there were other possibilities.
He could also dash in a circle at high speed before unsheathing his sword to cut the ground or unleash a flurry of slashes.
‘Of course, these are just the basics. He has other patterns as well.’
The problem was, Ian couldn’t predict which one Lucifer would use next.
Even if it was a familiar pattern, absorbing the power of a Demon God might have altered it.
Thus, Ian had only one viable strategy against Lucifer’s attacks.
Tap, tap!
“You scurry like a rat! How long do you think you can keep running?”
‘If I don’t run, I’ll die. So let’s see how long I can last.’
Ian’s strategy was simple: maintain distance.
Sure, it might seem cowardly, but what choice did he have?
Unlike some, Ian didn’t pride himself on fighting fair.
‘I want one thing: to fight dirty while my opponent fights fair.’
With that mindset, there was no reason to play into Lucifer’s expectations.
He’d already experienced the effects of Lucifer’s authority firsthand.
‘I don’t know for sure, but one of the Demon God’s abilities might ignore defense.’
If Ian could freely spam Lo Aias or Super Regeneration, it might be a different story. But with those options limited, taking unnecessary risks would be foolish.
‘Not that I plan to run forever. If an opening appears, I’ll attack. For example…’
Seeing Ian keep his distance, Lucifer momentarily halted his onslaught. That brief pause caused his stance to falter.
‘…Like now.’
Ian didn’t waste the opportunity.
The moment Lucifer’s posture broke, Ian launched himself forward, propelling off the ground and darting into Lucifer’s guard.
Whoosh!
Tearing through the air, Ian closed the gap in an instant. Lucifer raised his sword to intercept, but…
“You’re too late.”
“When did you—?!”
Ian had already slipped into Lucifer’s blind spot.
Rebrion, coated in solidified mana, radiated a dazzling brilliance.
Thud! Boom!
“Gaaah!”
As Rebrion plunged into Lucifer’s back, holy energy erupted, causing Lucifer to stagger and drop to his knees from the impact. Ian didn’t let up.
Slash, Slash, Slash!
Relentlessly, Ian unleashed a barrage of slashes.
Lucifer tried to rise, refusing to remain on the defensive, but…
Whoosh! Boom!
“Ian, watch out!”
“Understood!”
“Damn you filthy pests!”
Ian wasn’t the only one targeting Lucifer. From a distance, Illian, who had been tending to Hexar’s wounds, seized the moment and unleashed a flurry of arrows.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
As arrows rained down like a storm, Ian’s relentless swordplay pressed Lucifer further.
Thump.
“Kughh!”
Known for his aggressive and relentless nature, Lucifer’s boss battle had always been regarded as one of the hardest.
Yet now, he was being pushed to his limits by Ian and Illian’s coordinated assault.
Even though Lucifer had absorbed the power of the Demon God, making him stronger than ever, he found himself unable to keep up with Ian Volkanov.
It was an incomprehensible situation for most.
But all of this was part of Ian’s plan.
‘If the opponent’s authority is overwhelming… then make it unusable.’
Lucifer’s greatest strength was his relentless, overwhelming assault. Most people would try to counter each of his attacks by finding openings in his timing.
Ian, however, chose a different approach—he decided to meet fire with fire.
‘A gamble, sure. But if I could just disrupt his stance once, it might work.’
And now, Ian had created the scenario he wanted. Without hesitation, he set his plan into motion.
He continued his assault, refusing to give Lucifer even a moment to recover.
Normally, such relentless aggression would be a risky overextension unless the opponent could be killed outright.
‘But that’s what applied to Ariel when she fought Lucifer as a top-tier Expert. As a Master, the rules are different.’
Now, Ian was confident he could sustain the attack without giving Lucifer even a fleeting chance to breathe.
‘Even if it means using every drop of mana I have, I need to drain as much of his strength as possible with this.’
With this resolve, Ian gripped his sword tightly and launched another devastating swing.
Boom, boom, boom.
At the same time, his swordsmanship underwent a transformation.
Each swing wasn’t just an attack—it seemed to cleave through the space itself, sweeping everything away.
Minutes passed—one, two, three… The brilliance of Ian’s strikes etched dazzling trails into the air.
His sword painted light across the dark battlefield as if trying to reclaim it.
Ten minutes into the battle, Ian’s sword finally stilled.
“…Hah… Hah…”
“Huh…”
Lucifer was left in ruins, his breath ragged as he knelt on the ground, his body shaking. He gazed blankly into the void, completely spent.
Ian didn’t hesitate. He raised his sword once more.
“It’s … not over yet.”
The fight wouldn’t end until Ian plunged his sword into Lucifer’s back.
Taking a deep breath, he gripped his sword tightly and drove it downward.
Crunch!
Rebrion, gleaming with divine light, pierced Lucifer’s back.
Blood should have sprayed, and the notification of victory should have rung in his ears.
That’s what Ian thought as he closed his eyes for a brief moment.
But then…
“AAAAAHHH!”
“Ian! Get out of there!”
“What… He’s still standing?”
Instead of blood, ominous energy began to seep out of Lucifer’s body.
What was this? Why wasn’t he dead? Why was this happening now?
Ian couldn’t understand.
But in that fleeting moment, a realization struck him.
‘Something’s wrong.’
Lucifer wasn’t dead.
And if Ian lingered with his sword embedded, he would face a grave crisis.
Shhhk!
‘Damn it.’
Ian quickly yanked his sword out and started retreating toward his allies.
But…
“Ian! Watch out!”
“Behind you, Ian!”
BOOMMM!
Lucifer’s transformation came faster than Ian’s escape.
Crack!
From the wound where Ian had plunged his sword, something began to emerge.
A hand, followed by something clawing its way out, tore through Lucifer’s back.
‘It’s too late…’
BOOMMM!
An explosion of demonic energy erupted, engulfing Ian in its devastating wake.
