— — — — — — —
"Lord Beelzebub!!"
The commander of the army, barely holding on, was shocked to see Beelzebub's arrival, his heart pounding in fear.
If Lord Beelzebub witnessed them in such a pathetic state, there would be hell to pay. He trembled in fear.
But Beelzebub paid no attention to them. His eyes were locked onto Lynn.
Then, like a thunderclap, his figure shot forward, an overwhelming pressure erupting from his body!
A green mist-like magical aura spread out.
"Aaaaargh—!"
The devils caught in the green mist screamed as their bodies withered in an instant, as if something had drained them dry.
Senhime trembled.
Sensing danger, she wasted no time diving into Lynn's embrace, her arrogant demeanor vanishing completely.
Beelzebub's eyes burned with an eerie light, his monstrous power surging as he charged straight at Lynn!
Lynn, however, simply grinned, his eyes flickering coldly.
Dark energy exploded around him, tiny flickers of light dancing like fireflies in the night.
His deep red eyes held an unfathomable depth, as if they contained an entire universe.
BOOM!
A terrifying aura erupted skyward!
Like a blade slicing through the heavens, the thick clouds above were instantly torn apart!
For the first time in ages, the ever-gloomy Underworld was bathed in sunlight.
Lynn exhaled slowly, his breath crackling with arcs of electricity as it cut through the air.
The abilities of the Four-Soul Devil made his mind exceptionally clear.
His combat instincts were sharpened to perfection with every buff effect stacked on him, as if battle itself was ingrained into his very muscles.
Lynn looked up, smirking as he locked eyes with Beelzebub.
Beelzebub's pupils shrank in shock.
The magic power leaking from his body recoiled, as if a mouse had encountered a cat!
What the hell?!
The aura radiating from Lynn sent a chill down Beelzebub's spine.
The bloodthirst in his eyes faded slightly, and reason returned to his mind.
Confusion and doubt filled his mind.
Just moments ago, their auras had seemed evenly matched, but in the blink of an eye, Lynn's power had skyrocketed far beyond his own!
That holy magic energy—was that not his full strength yet?!
For the first time in ages, hesitation crept into Beelzebub's heart.
But while Beelzebub wavered, Lynn had no intention of stopping.
Since obtaining his new power, he hadn't yet had the chance for a proper fight.
And now, a Devil King, a Maou, had walked right into his path. A perfect test subject!
Lynn's eyes gleamed with excitement as he smirked at Beelzebub.
The next second—A blur flashed through the air!
Beelzebub's pupils contracted violently.
A clenched fist filled his entire vision.
One punch!
BOOM!!
A devastating impact, like a star exploding, landed directly on Beelzebub's face!
A shockwave exploded outward from the impact, swallowing everything in its path!
The sheer force sent out a shockwave, spreading violently in all directions!
The ground, solid and firm, was torn apart like fragile paper.
Massive boulders were crushed to dust!
The surviving devils' eyes bulged as their bodies twisted under the sheer force of Lynn's attack.
"Aaaaargh!!!"
Their screams of agony filled the air—before abruptly cutting off.
The army... had been officially annihilated.
Meanwhile, Beelzebub, who had taken Lynn's punch head-on, felt like he'd been hit by a falling meteor.
BOOM!
Like a broken doll, Beelzebub was sent flying!
His body slammed into a crystalline steel mountain range, the impact shaking the entire area!
The near-indestructible crystal-steel structure groaned under the pressure, spiderweb cracks spreading across its dark surface.
"Cough... Cough..."
Lying amidst the rubble, Beelzebub's nose was crushed in, a clearly defined fist mark imprinted on his face.
Lynn's magic, devastatingly effective against devils, seeped into his body.
His very life force was slowly being drained away...
What the hell just happened?
One punch.
Just one punch?!
How could he not withstand a single attack?!
Beelzebub's chest heaved violently.
He was starving.
Desperately hungry!
His Gluttony magic kicked in.
A terrifying vortex formed in the sky above, sucking in massive amounts of magic to replenish his strength.
Beelzebub greedily devoured the surrounding magic power, slowing down his life force depletion.
But...Damn it!
Fury burned in Beelzebub's eyes as he pushed his Gluttony magic to its limits, trying to consume and assimilate the light-attribute energy within him.
"Pfft!!"
A mouthful of blood spewed from his lips!
His eyes widened in disbelief.
He suddenly looked much older, his vitality draining away.
"How... How is this possible?!"
Even angelic power, while painful, should have been something he could eventually digest through Gluttony.
But this…This wasn't just light magic!
Tap.
A soft footstep echoed.
Lynn's figure appeared before him.
He watched as Beelzebub forcibly swallowed his magic, and his eyelid twitched hard.
Damn, this guy was ruthless.
A bunch of anti-Devil attributes stacked together, and this lunatic just gulped it down in one go?
"You…!"
"What the hell did you do to me?!"
Beelzebub's voice was hoarse with fury, but Lynn could hear the tremble hidden in it.
Beelzebub… was dying.
Lynn chuckled softly, a tiny spark dancing at his fingertip. Then, using the Harmonization effect of his Nigimitama form from [Four-Soul Devil], he infused it with Karmic Flames.
This guy had definitely accumulated a ton of karmic burden. Perfect.
Thinking that, Lynn flicked his finger.
Fwoosh!
The small spark, mixed with Karmic Flames, ignited as if it had met an endless fuel source and erupted instantly!
"AAAAAAHHHH!!"
Beelzebub screamed in agony, his very soul feeling as if it was being incinerated.
He gritted his teeth, rolling frantically on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames.
But the fire wasn't normal—it didn't go out. It only burned fiercer.
Beelzebub panicked and instinctively activated Gluttonyagain.
In the next second, the very ability meant to consume energy… acted like an accelerant, spreading the Karmic Flames from the inside out, completely incinerating him!
The Old Satan Faction's Devil King of Gluttony, Beelzebub—dead!
Lynn shook his head.
"Devouring everything you see will only get you killed..."
As he watched Beelzebub burn to literal nothingness, Lynn rubbed his chin and muttered, "A Maou, huh…"
"Are they really this weak?"
"No, you're just too strong!"
Seeing Beelzebub's complete obliteration, Senhime timidly peeked out from behind Lynn's chest, still shaken by the devastation around her.
The entire landscape had changed…
Everywhere she looked, deformed corpses of devils littered the battlefield…
She let out a shaky breath, feeling incredibly conflicted.
This was her first time witnessing combat at this level.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she never would've believed it—this was caused by a single punch!
Honestly, that Beelzebub guy was terrifyingly strong.
The moment she laid eyes on him, her instincts screamed at her to run. Every fiber of her being was on high alert!
And for good reason—
Just the leakage of his magic had sucked dry powerful beings on par with her!
And yet…
Her gaze grew complicated.
Someone that powerful… was still taken down in one punch by Lynn?
She thought about the time she had bared her fangs at him and shuddered.
From now on, she was going to be very well-behaved.
Once Beelzebub was completely reduced to ashes, Lynn deactivated all his power-ups.
That was a good fight.
After this battle, he now had a general grasp of his current strength.
Although he and Beelzebub were both at same level, there was a fundamental difference…
Lynn simply had too many abilities and tricks up his sleeve.
Just the layered effects of all his power-ups made him an absolute Devil Terminator.
To be safe, he had even marked Beelzebub as his enemy with the Vengeance Mark before the fight.
And with Four-Soul Devil's Harmonization ability, he had slipped a bit of Karmic Flames into his Starfire attack.
With the kind of karma Beelzebub had accumulated…
The fire had detonated instantly!
All in all, the layered combination of specialized attacks meant Beelzebub never even stood a chance.
Now that he had tested his strength, Lynn nodded in satisfaction.
In the next moment, he vanished, reappearing at the House of Valifer's ancestral home.
He had deliberately controlled his power to avoid damaging this area.
The Valifer Clan had been spared.
Inside, the atmosphere was… tense.
When the clan head saw Lynn, he forced out a smile even worse than crying.
"L-Lord… Angel?"
Even though he could smell the devilish aura on Lynn, his instincts screamed otherwise.
He didn't dare believe it.
Because what kind of Devil has Light and Holy magic?!
Thinking about the terrifying power Lynn had just displayed, the Valifer clan head trembled violently.
If he mistakenly identified this being's race and offended him… their entire clan could be erased in an instant!
Lynn shot him a calm look and said, "I'm a Devil."
The clan head stiffened like a statue.
We're dead. We're so dead!
Seeing him frozen in place, Lynn spoke again, his tone neutral.
"You're the clan head?"
"Y-Yes!" the Valifer head stammered, nodding rapidly.
"Then you know how your clan awakens its magic traits, right?"
Magic traits?
Hearing this question, the clan head was visibly surprised but didn't hesitate to nod.
"Yes, I do! I really do!"
"Good."
Lynn nodded and casually walked into the Valifer estate, taking the seat of honor in the main hall.
The clan head and the rest of the Valifer family stood there anxiously.
Faced with a being who had easily killed Beelzebub, they felt like helpless fish on a chopping board, unable to resist.
But…
In the Underworld, the strong ruled. This was normal.
So, they quickly adjusted their mentality.
After receiving Lynn's request, they hurried to fetch their books on awakening magic traits.
Lynn flipped through the pages, skimming the contents.
"I see…"
His eyes flashed with understanding as he read about the Valifer clan's magic traits— Conversion and Theft.
He continued reading about the awakening methods.
"Stimulating the survival instinct?"
Living in human society, he had never been in a situation desperate enough to trigger that.
And honestly, he probably never would.
That method's out.
Then there was…
"The family ritual?"
.
.
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