Belial wanted to curse out loud right now.
The moment he peeked his head out, he knew he'd messed up—bad.
I mean, come on, in a world this massive, with just one glowing cheat-code of a guy, how did he just so happen to show up right in front of him?
What kind of cursed fate was this?
Meanwhile, Shen You's face lit up the moment he saw who came out of the summoning circle—surprised and delighted.
That body, that creepy appearance, and especially the twisted expression that clearly recognized him and looked worse than crying—yep, no doubt about it. It was that guy with the name collision with Belial!
Belial, just like the Triarch Demon Lords, probably couldn't bring his true form easily into the real world. Usually, the Triarchs roamed across dimensions, spreading their seed via avatars, all to ultimately summon their true bodies.
But that didn't matter. Shen You didn't care. In fact, he was kind of happy about it. Even if it was just an avatar, it still counted for XP. And considering how dark and powerful this demon's energy felt, he could still be considered an elite mob among all the enemies Shen You had faced so far.
An elite mob that refreshes itself? Can you believe it? Reusable resource!
But of course, happiness isn't a shared experience. While Shen You was having fun, the other side was already crying internally.
Belial, however, kept a poker face, pretending to stay calm as he casually tossed out, "I don't know him."
Laurie: "?"
That triumphant grin on the cultist's face froze instantly, then gradually faded, replaced by shock and confusion.
Don't know him? That's not what you were saying last night!
Weren't you supposed to be some evil god? Didn't you promise me I'd be able to do whatever I wanted in this world?
So your special move is... surrender?
Laurie was suddenly filled with despair about this dark world.
It's all fake. Everything's fake. Even the evil gods are fake.
Shen You, of course, paid no attention to Belial's reaction. To him, it didn't matter if they knew each other or not—what mattered was that this guy was clearly a dark, evil villain and a walking XP dispenser. Blasting him was always the right call.
He raised his right palm to fire a beam—but just then, a shadow crept up behind his armored form, twisted and silent, approaching like a ghost.
"Watch out!" That was Raven's shout, the girl who'd followed him upstairs.
But if he waited to respond until after she shouted, it'd be too late. Shen You had already sensed something was off and, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, whipped around and fired a palm blast.
The sneak-attacking Belial took it full-on in the chest, his smoking body crashing through the rear wall and tumbling out onto the outer corridor amidst falling bricks and dust.
At the same time, the "Belial" standing calmly in front of Shen You flickered and vanished—it had been an illusion all along. Of course, the demon knew this was a grudge match with no chance of friendly banter. That whole conversation was just a distraction to sneak up from behind.
Didn't work too well, apparently.
Realizing the plan failed, Belial roared, wings spreading wide as he leapt into the air and shot into the night.
Shen You wasn't about to let him go. Boosters flared as he launched into the sky after him.
Two sonic booms split the night, transparent shockwaves exploding as the demon and armored figure broke the sound barrier and began a high-speed dogfight in the air.
This was where the full mobility upgrade of the second-gen armor really shone. Paired with Shen You's already superhuman reflexes, the armor let him dodge Belial's magical blasts with ease using flips, spins, and short-burst thrusters, while launching counterattacks with all kinds of firepower.
The night sky lit up with a crisscross of dazzling effects. Missiles exploded into fireworks, bright beams and dark spells clashing with deafening blasts.
"GET LOST!"
Battered from repeated hits, Belial was now trailing wounds and losing his cool. He spun mid-air, flying backward like he was doing a backstroke, wings flapping madly. He crossed his palms and unleashed a complex glowing sigil. A torrent of black flame burst forth, like a pitch-black dragon roaring toward Shen You!
Shen You extended his left hand. A swirl in his palm condensed into a glowing circular barrier, like a shield protecting his body. The black flame dragon slammed into the shield, licking and gnawing at it relentlessly.
This was a miniaturized version of the Ultra Barrier, a general-purpose skill. Shen You had weaponized it when upgrading his second-gen armor. The suit had multiple output ports to generate the barrier, and if needed, could fully encase him in a forcefield—just like now.
With energy surging, the barrier expanded like a transparent bubble around him. The black flames kept washing over it. Shen You raised his right hand, channeling energy into a spinning disc of light, wrapped in electric blue serpents.
Eightfold Light Ring!
The spinning disc launched with unstoppable force, splitting the black flame dragon clean in two!
Belial's pupils shrank. His wings flapped wildly as he tried desperately to dodge. He just barely avoided a fatal hit, but his left wing was severed instantly and turned to black smoke.
The demon let out a low growl as he plummeted, crashing into a rooftop below. The top floor collapsed under the impact.
Shen You followed, landing gracefully. From the rubble, a charred claw shakily emerged as Belial crawled out, panting, only to look up and see an armored fist aimed right at him—with a loaded warhead gleaming on the gauntlet.
Belial froze.
His body was covered in wounds, missing a wing, clearly half-dead. He knew he was done for, so he just gave up and started laughing maniacally.
"You think this means you've won? You have no idea. The door has already been found. The ultimate horror is coming. No one can stop—"
BOOM!
The Specium warhead exploded point-blank, engulfing Belial in a fireball.
Shen You calmly lowered his arm, the launcher folding back into his gauntlet.
"Talk too much."
At that exact moment, Laurie, still in the abandoned building, suddenly shuddered violently.
He could feel it—the connection between him and the great one he'd summoned was gone.
Laurie began to tremble all over.
No way.
Back then, when he'd hit rock bottom, he went looking for a boss to follow. But every boss he joined—three in a row—collapsed. He even got nicknamed "The Boss Slayer."
He used to be so offended by that nickname.
What boss slayer? Those so-called bosses were just too weak! It was just bad luck, that's all!
He swore he'd one day find a strong enough backer—ride that thick golden thigh to the peak of life, and make all those who once mocked him eat their words!
And yet… who could've guessed?
He picked an evil god from another world as his new backer… and now it looked like even that one had croaked.
Right then, the girl named Raven lightly stepped in front of him, raising a snow-white hand with fingers spread. A spell circle bloomed in her palm.
Laurie stood there dazed, staring at the eerie magic circle.
Could I really be—
His thoughts were cut short.
The next moment, he felt himself swallowed by infinite darkness.