Chapter 64: The Warmth of a Person, Demons, and a Terrible Natural Disaster Part 4

Today, someone died at Huangli Academy.

That someone was none other than the weak version of myself from yesterday.

The potion of courage.

Or rather, vodka.

I drank nineteen bottles of it and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was reborn.

I systematically organized my thoughts.

‘Where is my stress coming from?’

‘It’s from the demon!’

Therefore, the source of the problem must be destroyed!

Once I decided on my course of action, I moved quickly.

Finding prey was simple.

The one trying to hide themselves meticulously was the perfect target for me.

If they use a spell to erase evidence, there will always be traces left from the spell itself.

The spell meant to erase traces ends up leaving traces.

It’s an ironically strange situation, but there’s nothing to be done.

Seventeen years ago, the ultra-efficient evidence-erasure spell spread across the world.

The one who created and spread it was a young, arrogant wizard.

That despicable child left a backdoor in his spell, an odd fact no one could have predicted.

‘Who could have anticipated that?’

The Riyan practical magic — free distribution, with a large virus included.

Even when I lived as a fixer in the slums, this was a huge help, and it’s still paying off well now.

Following the traces, I reached the demon’s lair.

Security spells were all over the place, but this was the easiest part.

I analyzed the core elements of the spells and reverse-engineered them.

No matter how advanced the spell, I’m confident I can unravel it.

Of course, as always, the issue was the amount of magical energy.

But since the traps didn’t attack me right away, I had plenty of time.

I spent time carefully.

And so, I devised the most efficient reverse-engineering formula.

With just thirty minutes, I could improve the efficiency by more than twenty times.

Using only enough magic to cast a simple lighting spell, I disabled all the security measures.

All that was left was to walk through calmly.

The demon’s presence grows closer.

The demon, gazing into a strange crystal ball.

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

Hearing such words, I wasn’t about to let it slide.

I had to respond to such a declaration of war.

Of course, I had no power to defeat him.

I lacked the strength, ‘but what does that matter?’

It’s all about intimidation.

I put on a domineering, arrogant attitude.

And then, I set the stage where I could win.

I created a domain that didn’t even exist.

I dismantled the spell instantly, erasing all the demon’s doubts.

I fabricated a non-existent penalty and imposed restrictions.

The most important thing was to never lose my composure.

So, I deliberately used a protective spell.

“You broke the rules, so you should die, but I’m sparing your life to toy with you.”

I left the impression that I was the one in charge.

And so, the demon hesitated, wary of the non-existent barrier.

Chains formed out of illusionary fantasy bound him.

Of course, this still didn’t solve the problem.

The highest-level magic I could use was intermediate-level.

It was impossible for me to surpass the demon’s durability.

I had no means to kill him.

I had ensured he couldn’t use his powers, but I couldn’t cut off his life.

On the contrary, if he realized the deception, I would die.

If he decided to self-destruct, I would die.

A delicate balancing act where one wrong move would cost me my life.

But it wasn’t such a big problem.

After all, I’m a wizard.

As I explained to a student once, magic is language.

A wizard is someone who deceives the world with their words.

What I had to do was always the same.

It was time to toy with my opponent through deception and lies.

‘Had I ever felt this powerless before?’

Clearly, my hateful enemy was right in front of me.

The one who threatened Lord Gettya, the one I must eliminate.

‘Right now, I should crush that skull…’

Summoning the unique domain, the Scapula, was impossible.

The effect of the domain was strangely absolute.

A magic exclusive to demons, using souls.

Its activation was also firmly blocked, rendering it unusable.

The fact that my greatest weapon was sealed was painful enough.

I couldn’t even properly throw a punch at my opponent.

One tiny misstep, and I would die.

I was so frustrated that even my clenched fist, by reflex, made me nervous.

What if I squeeze my fist too tightly and accidentally break the limits of my domain, causing an explosion?

Even the punch I barely managed to throw was like a cotton-wrapped hammer.

“Is this all you’ve got? Why don’t you try harder?”

Naturally, the demon’s face twisted with disdain.

Riyan had given up only on magic.

Surely, he still had talent with swordsmanship, but he wasn’t using it.

He didn’t even draw the sword at his waist and instead yawned, doing nothing.

‘Damn it… does he really think I’m just a toy?!’

***

Eligos still had his pride.

Being so blatantly ignored naturally made him angry.

The golden eyes scanned me, an intellect beyond comprehension.

Just by observing his expression once, ‘did I understand what he was thinking?’

It seemed like that was what he wanted, so I would grant it.

Riyan spoke with a deliberate smirk.

“Additional restriction. For this fight, I will seal the principles of my lifelong unarmed combat and swordsmanship.”

With those words, a shimmering barrier appeared.

‘How profound must the runes in that barrier be?’

I couldn’t fathom the structure of the barrier that just activated.

I even wondered if it was just a bizarre pattern with no real meaning.

While the high-level nature of the barrier was certainly surprising, I couldn’t appreciate the craftsmanship due to the author’s blatant malice.

‘So, because you complained that I wasn’t using my sword, you’re going to add a restriction to prevent me from using it?’

‘What good does that do?’

He wasn’t showing mercy at all, even though it appeared so.

After all, the restrictions on me are equivalent to the ones he imposed.

‘Nothing is changing, is it?’

It’s just a mockery.

He’s saying he granted my wish, but can’t even defeat me?

Naturally, the demon’s teeth ground together in frustration.

Eligos gritted his teeth…

‘…Wait a minute.’

Then, something important dawned on me.

It was clearly meaningless mockery.

Purely a malicious act to toy with me.

But… this could definitely be used.

‘I’ve roughly figured it out. How this domain works.’

That professor foolishly demonstrated it.

“Additional restriction,” he said, imposing a penalty on himself.

Then, a restriction of equal strength would be applied to the opponent.

That was the principle of this barrier.

Thanks to the demon’s carelessness, I now understood how it worked.

At this moment, it was clear what I had to do.

“Additional restriction…”

I clenched my teeth tightly.

I steeled my resolve.

Crack, crack.

The sound of bone snapping filled the air.

The demon tore off his own right arm.

The overwhelming pain surged through him.

Yet, all that appeared on his face was a smile.

If he could still smile, that would have been the truly strange thing.

‘Riyan, you are indeed strong.’

Such a genius had given up on magic and swordsmanship.

Of course, an enormous restriction had to be placed on him.

But Riyan had underestimated him.

Additional restriction.

For this fight, I will seal the principles of my lifelong unarmed combat and swordsmanship.

The key here was “for this fight.”

Riyan’s restriction was efficient, but at the same time, it was light.

It wasn’t a permanent restriction.

Once this fight ended, everything would return to normal.

The weight of the restriction wasn’t as heavy as expected.

So, what needed to be done here was a permanent injury.

The demon’s arm was definitely torn off.

His body was made of soul, so losing a significant portion of his strength was the equivalent of losing 20% of his power.

With such a penalty, the weight should have been sufficient.

Now, the one who was bound by the restriction should be Riyan.

That was how it should have been…

But for some reason, Riyan’s condition didn’t change at all.

The restraints around him remained just the same.

Even when he tried to exert strength, his magical circuits overheated.

Despite placing the weight of a permanent physical injury on the scales, that damn scale didn’t show any sign of moving.

Sweat trickled down the demon’s back.

An ominous hypothesis flashed through Eligos’s mind.

‘What if…’

‘What if, just maybe…’

‘If Riyan’s brief moment of relinquishing power is a heavier restriction than losing his arm forever, If the professor’s one moment is more valuable than his entire lifetime, If such an overwhelming gap exists, Then, what am I supposed to do?’

Fear consumed him.

He lost his composure and denied this reality.

It’s just that the price is a little too low.

Once that’s fixed, there won’t be any problem.

If one arm isn’t enough, I’ll tear off a leg.

If one leg isn’t enough, I’ll tear off the other.

A scream escapes.

But it’s not a scream from pain.

The fear surpassed the agony of his limbs being torn apart.

Before the demon, now covered in blood…

“This is interesting. You have more potential than I thought.”

Endlessly arrogant and noble.

The golden eyes looked down at the demon.

A smile played at the corner of his lips.

Once, a creature like this could have been easily stomped out.

It was the playful gaze of someone watching the struggle of an insignificant insect.

In other words, the gaze of the Creator.

The God looked at Eligos and asked, “Would you like to make a contract with me?”