Genius Blacksmith's Game

“Babylon is a weapon that can threaten demons.”

That was the definition of Baal, the archdemon.

The one who stood above all demons.

Back then, Gremory couldn’t understand why Baal—someone like that—would fear a mere blade.

Baal ordered Gremory to recover Babylon.

And so, around 150 years ago, she was able to recover Babylon—one that carried 100g of divine ore from some god.

After recovering Babylon, Gremory defined it.

Trash among trash.

She couldn’t understand Baal’s intent.

Extinguish Evil definitely inflicted damage to all evil by 40%.

But no matter how you looked at it, Babylon was a weapon that couldn’t even be swung.

When she threw it into hellfire and faced Baal again, the archdemon saw what she hadn’t.

“Babylon—the reason that sword is dangerous isn’t Extinguish Evil.”

Baal’s expression was grave.

“Even after being thrown into hellfire, Babylon did not vanish.”

Hellfire was the hottest flame, said to melt anything, and it never went out.

“The creator of that sword lacked skill, and the god who handed over the ore to help knew it. That they could not complete Babylon with their own ability.”

“Then why call it Babylon—”

“Because it waits.”

“......!?”

Gremory realized it.

“Babylon isn’t a finished product. It’s nothing more than a blueprint. Through that blueprint, they left it in the world for someone who would make the true Babylon.”

Still, Gremory didn’t understand.

“Even if it steals 40%, 50%, or 60% of life, the fact that they cannot oppose us doesn’t change, does it?”

Baal looked at Gremory with hollow eyes.

“Humans are weak, but they build growth faster than we do.”

It implied that those humans could one day grow enough to threaten them.

“The biggest issue is who remakes Babylon. Of course, as you say, it’s nothing but a groundless worry.”

A groundless worry from Baal, the archdemon.

That was the end of it.

And with that, Babylon was forgotten.

But recently, the entire Demon Realm had been turned upside down.

[The power to extinguish all evil is felt.]

It was an aura so threatening and strong that every demon reacted.

And Gremory, faced with that immense power, guessed.

Not 40%... 50%? 60%?

Back then, she had no choice but to harbor fear.

Toward whoever had recreated Babylon—something that had been close to nothing more than a blueprint.

But that aura vanished in an instant.

As if it had been hidden.

Gremory knew.

Whoever made one Babylon can someday make a second, a third, a fourth.

She had grasped Baal’s true “groundless worry.”

What the archdemon feared wasn’t Babylon.

It was the craftsman who could recreate it—and how far that craftsman could raise Extinguish Evil.

*****

Gremory’s reason went numb.

There were two things Baal had feared.

How far the one who had newly recreated Babylon—something that had been nothing but a blueprint—had raised Extinguish Evil’s attack power.

And how far humans, said to grow quickly, would grow.

Demons were Transcendent species from birth, and could no longer grow beyond that.

And Gremory had viewed the man in front of her like a bug.

Her standard for “bug” had been his martial power.

But if he was a blacksmith—and a blacksmith who had newly recreated Babylon—then it was a different story.

How can a blacksmith have power like that?

The aura you could feel through all of it—his fighting spirit, his pride, his reckless bravado, his stubbornness.

A mere human, facing a demon, yet not wavering—wrapped in a brown coat, looking down at her as if superior.

Extinguish Evil, pulled back behind him, erupted from the tips of the creator’s fingers.

[It will extinguish any evil!]

SHKAAAA—!

Even though it hadn’t truly touched her, the moment it “cut,” Gremory was swallowed by an immense fear.

Born a demon, she had never once suffered a shock like this.

It had cut her, yet it felt so sharp and keen it was as if she hadn’t been cut at all.

Only when she saw the green blood bursting up like an explosion did she come to realize it.

[Gremory’s HP drops below 20%!]

Extinguish Evil hadn’t been increased by a mere 10% or 20%.

Compared to what had been nothing but a ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) blueprint, its effect had improved by roughly double.

She fell into multiple status ailments.

Everything she “knew”—that only someone walking the Sword God’s Path was worth fearing—crumbled and came at her as overwhelming terror.

In her pupils, the man in front of her was reflected.

Seeing him aiming at her and preparing to attack, the demon’s eyes widened.

*****

Please, go back.

Seeing the multiple status ailments triggering, Hyunsoo held onto hope.

That hope was never hope that he could catch Gremory.

To begin with, Gremory’s HP pool was about twice even Luxiu’s.

Even with Bahala and Hyunsoo fighting together, they’d only managed to painfully shave off 20% of Luxiu’s HP.

This was the only chance.

That she would take fear, fall for Hyunsoo’s act, and run.

And Hyunsoo could see it, too.

Even if she wasn’t on the level of Graut, the Blood Demon, Gremory’s HP was filling back up at a fast rate.

“Demon Jar.”

Hyunsoo’s face twisted.

Demon Gremory—like the ruler of those known as a battle species—was someone who chose attack over fleeing when faced with fear.

Hyunsoo had deliberately been walking toward her in a threatening way—

And with her instinctive cry, a black jar, flipped up into the sky, revealed itself.

[Demon Jar]

[Legion Commander Robs’s legion begins to fall.]

The jar that had been small gradually grew massive, filling the sky.

Hyunsoo had no choice but to decide.

[Hyunsoo: Bahala.]

Hyunsoo looked at Bahala.

Just now, while holding Gremory in place, Bahala’s HP had dropped below 10%.

And not a single skill cooldown had come back.

At least in Hyunsoo’s case, he could still use most of his skills.

[Hyunsoo: I’ll draw her eyes. While I do that, kill Luxiu, then carry him after he turns human and get out of the dungeon.]

[Bahala: What......!? You’re telling me to run?]

[Hyunsoo: If you kill Luxiu, I might be able to obtain him as a vassal. And the moment you kill Luxiu, you’ll awaken—so you can get out. You know it too. Even if you awaken, you can’t catch her.]

Bahala and Hyunsoo felt the limits of users.

What was even more humiliating was that this Gremory wasn’t the true Gremory.

This Gremory was in a demon offering descent state.

Awakened through a medium, most of her was sealed.

In reality, she was in the 700s, but right now she’d been lowered to the low 600s.

The lord of twenty-two Robs-class legion commanders and an army in the hundreds of thousands—yet it seemed she couldn’t summon them at present.

Even in this situation—

We can’t even seal her.

[Hyunsoo: You know what percent it is.]

Hyunsoo could feel it.

Because Bahala was the users’ idol, he could tell just by looking what their odds were.

And Bahala, similar to him but with an alert that told her differently, still showed 0% even after using Extinguish Evil.

[Bahala: ......I will do that.]

[Hyunsoo: You have to succeed.]

Hyunsoo wasn’t a sucker.

He simply believed the order was correct.

If he ran and Bahala held her back, the chance of escape itself would disappear.

But if awakened Bahala ran while carrying Luxiu, it became possible.

A prickling sensation—

In that moment, Hyunsoo could see over a hundred demonfolk and demonic beasts falling from the jar.

One demonfolk aimed for Hyunsoo’s head.

SHKAAAA—!

Hyunsoo swung up with the Twin Dragon Sword and split it in two, and light flowed from Hyunsoo’s body.

[Saint’s aura flows.]

PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF-PFF—!

“Khaaah!”

Smoke rose as if the cut area were burning away.

Hyunsoo cracked his joints, loosening up.

Staring at the ones dropping down, he flared up.

[Flame]

[A small spark is kindled.]

[All stats increase by 20%.]

[All skill levels increase by 2.]

[While Flame is applied, HP decreases.]

[A small spark covers the world.]

A small flame ignited from Hyunsoo’s body.

[Hyunsoo: Run!]

With that, Hyunsoo used it while watching them fall.

[Link.]

[The Twin Dragon Sword maximizes the power dwelling in the wearer, and the speed at which the chained powers connect becomes more than twice as fast.]

[Robs’s soldier Lv.413]

[Robs’s demonic beast Lv.398]

“Gather.”

The legion, and even Gremory herself, were pulled into it.

Bewilderment entered Gremory’s eyes.

[One Strike, Two Halves]

[Cutting power is maximized to 641% and slices horizontally across a 5m radius.]

SHKAAAA—!

Over a hundred legion soldiers were cut in two and scattered.

Even Gremory inside that took 2% off her HP.

The problem was that her HP had just restored to 22%.

Hyunsoo stepped on empty air.

Watching Bahala run toward Luxiu, he muttered.

“Ghost Ste—”

A mere one second.

If it was that one second, it was possible to get Bahala out of here.

He believed it was possible in that one second.

“—Laughter.”

Until her lips opened.

[You are afflicted with Maniacal Laughter.]

[Your skill is neutralized.]

Hyunsoo’s face crumpled.

A mere thirty seconds. Gremory’s eyes, which had been sunk in fear, changed in an instant.

[Gremory resists all status ailments.]

What she had feared was Extinguish Evil shaving off 80% of her HP—and the fact that it had been made at Hyunsoo’s fingertips.

The moment she organized her thoughts within that awareness of fear and terror, she became a true demon.

In midair, as Ghost Step unraveled, a brand was carved into Hyunsoo’s body.

[Gremory’s Mark]

[No matter where you are, Gremory will pursue you and read the places where your traces remain.]

FWOOM—!

With a mere swing of her arm, Bahala slammed into the wall.

“So you were the lord of a place called Atlas?”

Through the mark, she glimpsed Atlas.

Smiling faintly, she swept her hand through the air.

KRRRRAK—!

Space opened.

“I cannot summon my legion to this place. But I can summon existences who wish to pledge loyalty to a demon.”

[Summoning worshipers begins.]

“I’ll return to the Demon Realm, then go visit a place called Atlas.”

Hyunsoo’s body jerked.

“There, twenty-two legions will be with me, and you—the one called an outsider—will forge weapons for me for the rest of your life.”

Hyunsoo’s face went ashen.

Everything he’d built in an instant was about to vanish.

THUNK—!

Hyunsoo’s abdomen was pierced, and he dropped to the floor, sinking to his knees.

THUMP—!

[Powerful Control]

[You cannot move your body.]

She spread her wings.

“The rest will be finished by my worshiper. My worshiper is quite strong. I was thinking of entrusting him with the position of First Legion Commander.”

FLAP—!

Gremory flew up.

Even while collapsed, Hyunsoo forced his brain to turn, trying to find a way somehow.

But the door Gremory had opened—

Inside it, a massive existence was beginning to descend.

[The Hell King appears!]

A humanoid form, 5m tall.

Six arms, each gripping a greatsword.

Blood-red skin. A being with three heads crossed the unknown door and descended.

And then—

Tap-tap, tap—!

An unknown man began sprinting out from behind the door, chasing it.

Up in the sky.

The Hell King revealed.

A being so powerful that Demon Gremory intended to entrust it with the position of First Legion Commander.

That being—an unidentified man sprang up in a flash, split it in two with a single dagger—

FWOOM—!

And vanished like light, reaching one spot.

THUNK—!!!!

“......?”

Gremory, who had flown into the sky, crashed down as a dagger pierced straight through her glabella.

WHOOOOSH—

Gremory couldn’t understand what was happening, and neither could Hyunsoo.

With shaking eyes, he looked at the man—who stepped in front of Hyunsoo.

“......Stand.”

Following him, Hyunsoo forced himself up, staring at the man’s back that felt only broad, and hearing the sound that spread across the entire world.

[World Message rings out.]

[The second legend is written.]

The nameless friend—once Nameless’s friend—aimed his dagger at the demon.

“I’ll take point.”

[Asura Kabel has joined the party.]

The nameless friend had returned.

As the second legend.