Of course, contrary to the hamster's misunderstanding, Lee Han had grounds for a certain degree of confidence.

'At the very least, one of them is definitely from the Ksaksarigol Order.'

No matter how he looked at it, the way the prophet kept muttering, "M-M-M-Monster," was far too blatantly suspicious.

"You insignificant human bastard...!"

Juzen's body rapidly regenerated with a bubbling sound.

It was the regenerative Authority bestowed upon Juzen by the Fair Regent.

Crackle!

In the meantime, Perkuntra's chain lightning was already surging through the mercenaries.

The mercenaries had faced lightning magic quite often, so they skillfully raised shields imbued with insulating properties, but the destructive force of the lightning exceeded their expectations.

It was Lee Han's unique modified magic, which increased a spell's power by pouring in mana beyond the limits of ordinary magic!

"!"

When their shields burned away and the shock traveled all the way up their arms, the mercenaries were horrified.

Normally, chain-type magic divided its attacks among multiple targets, so the destructive power of each individual strike was not particularly high.

The shields they were carrying were capable of blocking third- or fourth-circle magic easily...!

At that moment, the mercenaries felt their vision blur and their senses grow numb.

It was a curse.

'How?!'

As events that defied common sense occurred one after another, even the experienced mercenaries froze in place.

Just as they had countermeasures against lightning, naturally, they also had countermeasures against curses.

The mercenaries did not wear all those dangling necklaces and rings for nothing.

Yet the curse had pierced through them without any warning whatsoever?

Siana shouted urgently.

"Priest Tiziling. Where will they move next?!"

"They will break through the wall on the right and escape!"

After hearing Tiziling's answer, Siana quickly sent a snake made of slime flying over and positioned it near the wall on the right.

The snake vaporized in an instant, transforming into toxic fumes that occupied the space.

"Good! Fire another curse!"

"Th-This is not an item that can fire curses that conveniently..."

Tiziling answered in bewilderment at the excited shout from the friend.

The priests of the Prisinga Order, who specialized in collecting curses, were equally skilled in methods of utilizing them.

Tiziling also possessed several cursed artifacts, but they were not items that could fire curses so conveniently.

"Get up at once, you lowborn!"

Juzen spoke while restoring the fallen prophet of the Ksaksarigol Order.

The Authority of the Fair Regent was not infinite.

The master's Authority could only be used in proportion to the sacrifices offered.

There was only one reason Juzen had restored the prophet despite consuming precious reserves of sacrifices.

Juzen needed the power of foresight that could find the most accurate path through this situation.

"Monstermonstermonstermonstermonstermonster..."

"......"

Juzen regretted reviving this bastard.

Juzen had no idea what kind of attack the prophet had suffered, but had not expected the prophet to become this deranged.

Lee Han, on the other hand, felt relieved.

Honestly, he had been alarmed when the opponent regenerated immediately after being struck by the water-orb shot.

It might have been one thing when the spell was still at the fourth circle, but after Lee Han had raised it to the fifth circle and imbued the water-orb shot with the concept of destruction, it should not have been easy to regenerate from it.

As expected of an evil-god worshiper, the opponent clearly possessed some grotesque method.

'It is almost fortunate that someone from the Ksaksarigol Order is here.'

"Nigisor, I will leave the rest to you!"

Lee Han intended to leave the other mercenaries to Nigisor and focus his attacks on Juzen.

Anyone could see that Juzen was the most dangerous opponent.

Nigisor nodded and greatly expanded the body.

For an ordinary mage, such a fluid transformation would have been difficult because the body was made of flesh and blood, but Nigisor, who carried the blood of spirits, was different.

"Flames, dwell within me!"

When a burning priest suddenly prepared to charge like a war chariot, the mercenaries were startled.

Even though the successive attacks had thrown them into confusion, the mercenaries responded quickly.

"Intercept! Do not let that priest approach..."

At that moment, Nigisor felt the energy of a powerful spirit assisting the flames.

It was the power of extremely violent and intense fire.

'What is this? Is there a powerful fire spirit nearby?'

It was strange, but now was not the time to search for it.

The spirit's identity could be confirmed later.

Fwoooosh!

When the alley filled with flames, the mercenaries cursed and threw themselves aside.

They knew that the hole beside the wall was filled with a poisonous cloud, but for now, they had to evade the flames first.

'Water-orb shot!'

A sphere of water formed in the air and once again lunged toward Juzen's vital point with a vicious sound.

At the same time, a powerful telekinetic force struck Juzen like an enormous palm.

Under the blunt pressure, Juzen felt blood rise in the throat.

"How dare an insignificant human species...!"

Enraged, Juzen consumed another sacrifice to restore the injuries and spread a powerful barrier of mental energy nearby.

The barrier formed through the power of an evil god disrupted the aim of the telekinetic force and dissolved the concept imbued within the water-orb shot, returning it to an ordinary droplet of water.

'I will kill you!'

Juzen raised the head and glared directly at the opponent, expecting to see a frightened expression.

However, Lee Han's expression did not change in the slightest.

It was a bold attitude, as though Lee Han had always expected resistance of this level.

"Space!"

In the meantime, Lee Han immediately teleported the water-orb shot he had created behind the enemy.

The water-orb shot collided with the bricks and sliced through matter with a sharp sound.

Juzen, who had spread the barrier only in front to conserve sacrifices, regretted the stingy decision.

The opponent was far stronger than Juzen had expected.

Thud!

It was a sharp attack that precisely targeted a vital point, severing the spine and lodging itself in the heart.

That attack suddenly caused old memories to resurface in Juzen's mind.

"...You! You! Are you a disciple of House Bagreg?!"

"What is Bagreg?"

Lee Han lied without even blinking, but the madness-filled vampire had already become certain.

This distinctive method of magical combat was difficult to mistake.

Juzen cursed in a voice filled with killing intent.

"Even after the Regent showed mercy, you dared to sharpen the blade of revenge so underhandedly...? Fine! I will no longer show mercy either."

The surviving members of the Sanguros Order were not currently targeting their old enemies.

It was a time when the order needed to focus solely on recovery, and above all, the Regent had commanded it.

However, grudges from the past did not disappear so easily.

That was especially true for someone like Juzen, who had once possessed a glorious house only to see it collapse in an instant.

Juzen would gather the noble vampires of the west who carried grudges and take revenge!

At that moment, Juzen's body grew indistinct.

To escape from this place, Juzen had once again chosen to flee into the dimension of the flame giants.

But Juzen was still underestimating the opponent.

"!!"

Juzen was horrified by the sight of Lee Han immediately pursuing and entering the dimension.

'This human bastard. Is he not afraid of the flame giants' dimension?!'

***

-You fool! Withdraw at once!

The hamster squeaked in alarm.

This was the dimension of the flame giants.

Moreover, judging by the way the sky was dyed crimson and the air vibrated with heat, the flame giants seemed to be extremely enraged over something that had happened.

-You do not even know what they came here and did, yet you followed them! You could die together with him!

"I will leave. After I catch that bastard."

No matter what the hamster squeaked, Lee Han barely listened and stared ahead with gleaming eyes.

If Juzen had still belonged to a sound house and possessed shining reason, Juzen would never have said those words in front of an opponent.

There was no reason to inform the opponent, "I am going to target your teacher from now on."

It served no purpose other than providing a base sense of satisfaction.

The very fact that Juzen relied on that satisfaction revealed just how far the vampire's judgment and reason had deteriorated.

'So the moment you return, you intend to target Professor Bagreg first?'

Lee Han learned several things from the opponent's words.

The opponent held a fairly high position, carried a great deal of resentment toward House Bagreg...

...and the moment Juzen returned, the vampire would continue sending assassins after Professor Voladi and Lee Han!

In that case, it was unquestionably correct to finish Juzen here.

Juzen had underestimated Lee Han's decisiveness.

"This feels... extremely unpleasant. Even if my house has fallen, to experience a mere green human brat looking down on me..."

Juzen trembled while using the evil god's Authority to heal the injuries.

Once Juzen understood to some extent why the opponent had pursued, that realization transformed into anger.

A mere human brat had followed Juzen inside to finish Juzen off?!

"Lightning, dwell within me and manifest!"

"O Regent, tear him apart!"

Lee Han's choice was Lightning Fire.

It was another fifth-circle spell, but since Lee Han had already used the water-orb shot too many times, there was a high possibility that the opponent had learned to read it.

When Lee Han's body transformed into lightning and thrust forward like a spear, inflicting a blow, Juzen groaned deeply.

However, certainty of victory flashed in Juzen's eyes.

"It is over, you human bastard!"

-D-Dangerous!

-This is...!

Not only the hamster but even Saratan inside the staff sensed the danger and shouted.

Juzen's reason and judgment had grown greatly dulled, but today, the vampire made the boldest and most accurate decision yet.

The longer Juzen dragged out the battle against this human brat, the more dangerous it would become.

Therefore, Juzen mobilized every sacrifice and brought out the most powerful of the evil god's Authorities in Juzen's possession.

Crimson, blood-colored energy gathered in the air and transformed into a horrifying cursed strigoi with four arms.

However, what radiated from it was unmistakably divine power.

Saratan immediately stepped forward before its master could act.

The Authority of Tenacity, which blocked any attack!

A translucent hornbeam spread through the air and stood firm, blocking the four-armed strigoi's approach.

Creak!

However, the power of the evil god surpassed imagination.

It crushed and twisted the barrier with sheer force, as though compressing an enormous tree and crumpling it.

-Th-This cannot be...!

Saratan cried out in horror.

"Do you think a spirit can stop the power of a god?!"

Juzen realized that Lee Han had used the power of a spirit and shouted.

That strigoi was the manifestation of the great Regent.

How could a mere spirit possibly block a blow containing the power of an evil god?

-The bracelet! Take out the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons!

The hamster shouted urgently.

The situation was so desperate that they had no choice but to borrow even the power of demons.

"There is no need."

Lee Han answered coldly, then lowered the staff and raised both hands above the head.

Juzen wondered whether the bastard was surrendering, only to notice that a strange crown had appeared above Lee Han's head.

'What is...?'

Before Juzen could even consider the crown's identity, the strigoi's four arms suddenly moved in different directions.

Then they pierced through Juzen's body.

"Urgh!"

'A small world!'

No other explanation came to mind for this alien and bizarre magical system.

Juzen had never imagined that the opponent could use a small world.

Even if it was a small world, Juzen still could not understand it.

How had Lee Han controlled the power of an evil god like that?

-I-Insane...!

The hamster cried out as chills ran through the body.

The hamster should have been happy that they had achieved victory over an evil-god worshiper, but the sight before it was so horrifying that there was no room to feel such joy.

A method of combat like that.

Was that not just like the Skull Principal in youth?

This was not a matter of strength.

Something about the style and method of the magic reminded the hamster of that insane archmage.

"Insane?"

-...I meant it went insanely well! Splendid!

Frightened, the hamster quickly offered praise.

The image of Lee Han wearing the crown remained like an afterimage, causing the hamster's heart to pound.

"Ah. Thank you."

Lee Han answered shyly.

Lee Han had fortunately realized that the small world could be used and won, but receiving such extravagant praise made him feel slightly embarrassed.

'Damn it...'

Juzen felt certain defeat.

When a bold strategy failed even once, the backlash was equally severe.

That was exactly what had happened to Juzen now.

To think the attempt to immediately kill the opponent by mobilizing all the power of the evil god would return like this.

Who are you?

"!!!"

Both Juzen and Lee Han were greatly startled and turned their heads.

The enraged flame giants were walking toward them from below.

Who dared attack the giants and desecrate their corpses?

"Th-That mage did it!"

Juzen squeezed out the last remaining strength and shouted.

Even Juzen thought it was a cunning scheme.

To the giants, that human brat would appear far more suspicious than Juzen, a defeated figure on the verge of death.

'O Regent. Thank you!'

Boom!

The flame giant swung a burning sword and burned away even Juzen's very existence.

Then the giant shouted irritably.

There is no possibility that the challenger acknowledged by the King of the Frost Giants would do such a thing. You foul-smelling creature. How dare you utter such a worthless lie?

"......"

Lee Han felt deep despair even while experiencing relief.

Just how quickly did rumors travel between dimensions...?