Chapter 155
All the gazes fell on Lee Shin and Cinnamon. Vuela, Alice, and Zephyr were left stunned, their eyes fixed on the space where Lee Shin's attack had just struck. The space there quivered, seemingly sliced by an imperceptible blade.
"Cinnamon." Lee Shin’s calm voice echoed in Cinnamon's ears.
"So, you said you were looking for Sayr’s subordinate? I'll tell you." Cinnamon didn’t seem all that eager to fight now.
"No, now that I think about it, there's no need for that," Lee Shin replied.
"What do you mean? Are you saying you changed your mind?" Cinnamon asked Lee Shin.
"You and Sayr’s subordinate, Gregeron, don't get along well, right? Tell your subordinates to spread rumors," said Lee Shin.
"What kind of rumor?" Cinnamon asked.
"That you were in a fight which resulted in the death of many and one of your arms getting blown off,” Lee Shin said.
Cinnamon’s eyes shimmered with excitement.
"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."
"Because in a situation like this, that guy will reveal himself."
"But to do that, we must convince everyone that Cinnamon, this bastard, is injured!" Zephyr shouted.
The change in Zephyr’s tone elicited a glare from Cinnamon. However, the strength of his team had inflated Zephyr’s confidence. Why would he fear anyone when Lee Shin could trounce even Cinnamon?
"So what! Who cares if you stare at me like that!" Zephyr shouted at Cinnamon.
"You damn bastard...!" Cinnamon gritted his teeth.
"Shut up, Cinnamon," said Lee Shin.
Cinnamon immediately stopped trying to get up, giving up on attacking Zephyr, and instead remained on his knees.
"I'll give you three days. If you can't bring Gregeron out within that, everyone here will die," Lee Shin warned Cinnamon calmly.
The devils around them trembled. They had clearly seen that Cinnamon could not even be considered a match for this human named Lee Shin. Therefore, they could already tell that it would be the same for Gregeron. So, they put all their mental power into finding a way to get Gregeron here within three days.
"Now, move quickly," Lee Shin ordered.
The devils, Cinnamon’s obedient subordinates, moved quickly. Cinnamon got up and glared at Lee Shin.
"So, all I need to do for you is get Gregeron here?” Cinnamon asked Lee Shin.
"That's right. I don’t need you guys for anything other than that, so do as I say,” Lee Shin said.
"All right…” Cinnamon muttered.
Cinnamon, whose pride seemed deeply wounded, called some of his subordinates and entered the building.
"What should we do now?" Alice asked.
"For the time being, we need to hide ourselves."
"Cinnamon might betray us and call others, right?"
"Even if he tries to do something sneaky, it can only be done within the third realm. Besides, the devils are never cooperative, so it’s implausible.” Lee Shin laughed and looked at the devils.
Even those devils only followed Cinnamon because Cinnamon was more powerful than them. If Cinnamon were weakened, they would immediately try to defeat him and tear him into pieces.
‘Well, I guess there could be exceptions…’
***
The next day, rumors of Cinnamon’s death, his injury, and his fight with the humans who went around killing devils spread like wildfire. Numerous witnesses had seen how powerful those humans were, and such witnesses made the self-destruction of Cinnamon seem true.
However, Cinnamon went out, showing that he was unharmed, and roamed the area even more. Therefore, many saw that he was alive and well. As a result, the devils had conflicting opinions about whether the previous rumor was true. Cinnamon smiled with satisfaction when he heard the news in his home.
"Things are turning out just as I planned," said Cinnamon, pleased.
"We just received intelligence that Gregeron is on the move," said one of Cinnamon’s subordinates.
After hearing the news from his subordinate, Cinnamon frowned immediately and
broke the cup that he was holding.
"Of course he is. He has always been a threat. Prepare to meet him," said Cinnamon.
"Yes, Sir!" replied his subordinate.
Cinnamon looked out the window. Outside, a woman and an Elf were sweating buckets, seemingly training for war. Zephyr had gathered other devils and was showing off his power.
Crunch—!
Cinnamon found Zephyr the most annoying right now. He used to be a mere low-class demon, but now he was a commanding-class devil, even daring to challenge Cinnamon. He could only act like that because he was clinging to those humans.
"After finishing my task, I'll trample him to death," Cinnamon muttered, looking at Zephyr.
Bam—!
Someone abruptly and forcefully opened Cinnamon's door and entered.
"What did you just say? Did you just say you’ll trample me to death?"
Cinnamon flinched and turned around after hearing that. The newcomer was Lee Shin.
"N-no, of course, I’m not talking about y-you," Cinnamon stuttered.
"Why? Now that Gregeron is coming, do you think everything will turn out how you want? Are you going to take revenge on me or something by devouring his demon power after I kill him?” Lee Shin accused Cinnamon.
Cinnamon denied it, but Lee Shin did not believe him.
"Ha, this is why I shouldn’t have cooperated with devils in the first place,” Lee Shin muttered.
"It's a misunderstanding! I wasn’t talking about you, punk, but Zephyr—” Cinnamon tried to explain.
“Did you just call me punk?” Lee Shin stared at Cinnamon.
"No! I didn’t mean to say that…” Cinnamon mumbled.
"Enough. Make sure you act well so that Gregeron doesn’t escape halfway," Lee Shin said.
A faint smile appeared on Lee Shin’s face as he said that.
"Fine," Cinnamon muttered.
Cinnamon frowned, realizing that Lee Shin was mocking him. However, that was the end of it. He couldn’t say another word until Lee Shin had left; after, he threw a chair at the wall.
"Just wait and see...!" Cinnamon muttered in anger.
Lee Shin, who had entered another room in the building, calmly waited for Gregeron to arrive.
"Gregeron..." Lee Shin muttered as he thought about the devil.
He was the only devil connected to Sayr in the third realm and a gateway to the fourth realm.
‘I should also stay alert now.’
There were seventy-two thrones in the Demon World, and only the seventy-two Great Devils seated there were allowed to travel to and from the fourth realm. There was no other passage from the third realm to the fourth realm. Only by receiving authorization from the Great Devils could one gain access.
In other words, without the Great Devils’ permission, accessing the fourth realm was near impossible.
‘But that doesn't mean there's no way at all.’
He planned to kill someone with that kind of authority. Lee Shin planned to kill Gregeron, seize his authority, open the entrance to the land of Sayr, and enter.
"Gregeron is coming!"
Lee Shin was lost in thought when he heard the cries of devils from outside.
‘Finally, he arrived.’
A group appeared in the distance, crossing the city to come here. Large demonic beasts were pulling a massive carriage with great effort. Lee Shin stood up from his seat, aware that Gregeron must be inside.
***
"Hey Cinnamon, it's been a while."
Gregeron, who had entered through the door, spoke when he saw Cinnamon.
"Yeah, but... you brought many guests with you. Are you that scared?" Cinnamon provoked him.
The majority of Gregeron’s subordinates had entered one after another.
"Scared? Heh... it's not something a one-armed loser like you should say," said Gregeron.
"I’ll soon get an extra arm, thanks to Amduscias," Cinnamon replied.
.
"Heh... is that so?" Gregeron started to laugh at him.
Gregeron chuckled as he surveyed his surroundings. Cinnamon's subordinates were standing around, on guard.
‘What's going on?’
There was a subtle difference in the atmosphere compared to before. While they still seemed tense, it did not seem like Gregeron himself was the cause. Their attention seemed focused somewhere else. His expression distorted when he noticed that.
"What are you guys trying to do…!” Gregeron muttered.
A human slowly walked out from inside the building. And then another human and an Elf revealed themselves. Gregeron quickly realized it was a trap and spread his wings wide.
"Cinnamon, you've finally gone crazy, joining hands with humans!" Gregeron activated his demon power and tried to take to the sky.
However, a powerful force pressed him down as he tried to ascend.
"Keugh…!" Gregeron gasped.
Thud!
Gregeron landed back on the ground. He then glared at Lee Shin. He was under intense pressure, as he could not gauge the density or the quantity of the opponent's mana. The human approached him slowly, pouring out his mana, appearing unperturbed.
"Are you Gregeron?" Lee Shin asked.
"Krrrk! Who the hell are you!" Gregeron shouted.
Gregeron realized that Lee Shin was an extraordinary human with an unusual aura. A formless power from this human had made it difficult for him to escape, even though he was exerting his demon power.
Besides, Cinnamon merely watched with caution as the human passed by, seemingly unable to move even an inch. Gregeron could read the entire situation instantly and realized something had changed in the third realm.
"Sayr," Lee Shin muttered.
The human uttered that name at last. Gregeron instinctively knew that he had to escape from here, so he exerted all his strength to escape Lee Shin’s psychokinesis.
"Attack that human! Stop him!" Gregeron, who had taken to the sky, shouted to his subordinates.
‘I’ll have to escape first, no matter what!’
Gregeron attempted to flee without looking back, and his subordinates rushed toward Lee Shin as he had commanded.
"That punk is running away!" Zephyr shouted in panic.
"What the hell are you guys doing?! Block them!” Cinnamon shouted and gritted his teeth, raising his demon power to chase after Gregeron.
Amidst it all, Lee Shin remained calm; soon, a dense black thunderbolt appeared above his hand.
Pizz— Pizz—
When Lee Shin stretched out his finger, the fierce thunderbolt instantly pierced Gregeron’s back.
"Kraaargh!"
The unexpected attack made Gregeron scream. After getting electrocuted, he fell. Lee Shin dragged Gregeron with psychokinesis and looked at him.
"Open the portal that leads to Sayr’s land," Lee Shin ordered.
Gregeron looked at Lee Shin as if he could not believe what he had heard.
"Do you even know what that means?” Gregeron glared at Lee Shin.
"Yeah, so stop talking and just do it," Lee Shin replied coldly.
Gregeron seriously considered opening the portal because he knew that he could never defeat this powerful opponent alone. If he opened the portal and sent these challengers to Sayr’s territory, there was a high chance they would die. However, his instinct told him he should not let this human go through.
‘Well, I don’t think a mere human can harm Mr. Sayr, but…’
However, for some reason, Gregeron could not stop worrying. He was already imagining this human setting fire to Sayr’s territory.
"Why should I let you step into Sayr’s territory? You are a mere human!" Gregeron shouted.
"If you don't, you will die," Lee Shin replied.
"Kill me. Even if I have to die, I won’t open it!” Gregeron shouted.
"Tsk."
Lee Shin clicked his tongue and infused more mana into his Psychokinesis. He had no choice but to use the last resort.
"Ku... huk...!"
Crack!?
Gregeron let out a final scream of agony as his neck broke. Intense demon power flowed out from him almost simultaneously. The power of a top-level commanding-class devil made all the devils here greedy.
‘I want to devour it.’
‘I can't stop my hands from trembling. Should I just rush in and get it?’
‘He wouldn’t need that demon power because he’s a human, so isn't this a first come, first served buffet?’
The devils stared at the demon power, lusting for it.
"Move an inch and die," declared Lee Shin, seemingly able to read the devils’ minds.
No devils could think of devouring that demon power anymore, as they feared the human.
"Zephyr." Lee Shin called out
"Yes, Sir!" Zephyr hastily responded to the sudden call.
"You can take it," said Lee Shin.
"Thank you, Sir! I will repay your trust!" Zephyr replied with excitement.
Zephyr thanked his past self again and devoured the demon power. As he ate it, he began to swell. His physique, which had been rather small compared to his strength, grew.
"Hahaha!?Is this what power feels like?" Zephyr, who had finished consuming all the demon power, looked around with a wicked gleam.
"Zephyr." Lee Shin called out.
"Yes, Sir!" Zephyr replied.
"Open the portal that leads to Sayr’s land." Lee Shin ordered.
"Sorry, Sir? How... would I do that?" Zephyr looked confused.
"Get yourself together and feel the power you have. Move the demon power with the desire to go to the fourth realm," Lee Shin explained.
"Understood!" Zephyr replied.
Upon hearing that, Zephyr began to concentrate on opening the portal. The surrounding devils looked at him with envy.
"Finally, I get to move on to the fourth realm," Lee Shin muttered.
"Lee Shin, do you really have to go there?" Vuela and Alice approached him and asked.
"Yes," Lee Shin replied.
"Can we come along?" Alice asked.
"No, I’m going alone. The fourth realm is nothing like the realms before," said Lee Shin with determination.
"Even dealing with Cinnamon here seems difficult for you, Alice,” Lee Shin said.
"I know that, but..." Alice muttered.
"I could be of help, couldn't I?" Vuela seized the opportunity and asked.
"I'm sorry, but you won’t be an exception. There's a king-class Great Devil in the fourth realm that poses a significantly higher level of danger than what you have encountered here," Lee Shin replied.
"Oh… All right then,” Vuela seemed disappointed.
Both Vuela and Alice possessed considerable power. Vuela was a berserker, and Alice had the Eyes of the Wise Man. Vuela could probably survive there for a while, but he would eventually die too. Alice was the same. Eyes of the Wise Man could help her, but it could not guarantee her survival.
"You two need to go up to the 50th floor first. And make sure you don't say anything more about me there," Lee Shin said.
Maintaining secrecy is crucial for this plan. If the gods were to find out, they would undoubtedly exert their power to interfere.
‘From the fourth realm onwards, I really don't know what will happen.’
The scope of this stage went up to the third realm, meaning the tower only protected challengers until here. Things would change as soon as Lee Shin reached the fourth realm.
The fourth realm was outside the Tower's influence. While it made it possible to avoid the gaze of the gods who observed the Tower, it also meant that the gods could exert their influence without considering karma.
‘Nevertheless, there are safety measures in place.’
If the gods from a different dimension tried to exert power in the Demon World, the territory under the influence of the Demon God, it was considered an act of challenging the Demon God and acting against him.
Unless the Demon God intervened, the other gods could not directly use their power freely. The best they could do was send their subordinates. Moreover, since sending their subordinates also required different dimensions to be connected, most gods could not do that easily.
‘But I can never tell what those crazy bastards would do next.’
That was why Lee Shin could not accurately predict the situation in the fourth realm. There were just too many variables.
"Yay! I think I got it! So this is how I was supposed to do it!” While Lee Shin was lost in thought, Zephyr exclaimed as if he had found the way.
Zephyr’s demon power gathered in the air, creating a round black portal in the center.
"Lee Shin! Whatever happens... don't die." Alice cried out to Lee Shin, who stood before the portal.
"All right.” Lee Shin left a short response.
"I'll be waiting for you," Vuela said, looking at Lee Shin.
"Don't do anything reckless," Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin glanced at the black portal and jumped inside.
"We should get going as well," said Alice.
"Yeah," Vuela replied.
After Lee Shin left, Alice and Vuela were also enveloped in light and vanished from the scene. They climbed up to the 50th floor like that.
"Phew... Those annoying humans have finally disappeared," Zephyr muttered.
Zephyr, who had removed the portal, looked around his surroundings because he could feel the gazes of other devils pouring in from all directions. Cinnamon and his subordinates were staring at him with hostility.
"Haha... Well then, everyone, I'll get going now," said Zephyr.
Zephyr started to walk off slowly but then suddenly dashed outside.
"Go get that bastard!" Cinnamon shouted.
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