Various emotions began to surge within me as I faced the Demon Lord.


    However, even amidst those emotions, my thoughts remained remarkably rational.


    Why did the demon named Lehric enrage me to this extent?


    I questioned myself.


    “Keuuuh.”


    Though I was yet to find a clear answer regarding my emotions, Lehric didn’t remain quiet.


    A desperately outstretched hand.


    Almost instantly, the inside of the general store began to shake. And as if gravity had been reversed, the floor I’d been standing on just moments ago was flipped upside down, becoming the ceiling.


    Creeeaaak!


    A wide open purple door appeared at the end of my path as I fell downwards.


    Just like what he did with Aria before, he intended to manipulate the door’s position from outside to eject me from the store.


    Surely, the general store door on the ceiling outside was now wobbling.


    However...


    Clunk! Clunk!


    Spider legs protruding from behind my back positioned themselves on the door frame, preventing myself from flying out.


    Aria had already informed me in advance about the precautions to take while fighting inside the general store.


    “This is ridiculous.”


    Hovering in the air with wings spread from his back, Lehric was now glaring at me.


    I tried to move one spider leg to shut the door and use it as a foothold, but just before the door closed.


    [Seriously! Please, just let go!]


    The Dark Spiritualist grumbled as she entered the store. Since I had just fallen from the ceiling to the floor, it seemed that she found it difficult to follow.


    [Wouldn’t the fight be easier if it’s 2-on-1?]


    Upon seeing the Dark Spiritualist state that she wanted to fight alongside me, Lehric chuckled with a sense of shame.


    “My situation has become quite amusing.”


    He was caught off guard by the souls of humans he had thought of as mere tools and collectibles, bringing about the greatest crisis in his life as a demon.


    “The Demon Lords I have met so far were able to manifest unconventional power in specific situations.”


    The Demon Lord of Gluttony, Magan, grew explosively stronger the moment he recognized his opponent as food, especially in a place he called his dining table.


    The Demon Lord of Pride, Dune, could exert strength far beyond his usual limits if it were established that convictions were at stake when confronting his opponent.


    The Demon Lord of Deformity, Velica, was able to offer overwhelming assistance despite being a soul, as she was with me—an outsider and a deformed being.


    In this manner, Demon Lords did not necessarily exert strong power unconditionally, but they exerted strong power in specific situations or conditions.


    The opposite was also possible.


    Just like how I was able to knock Magan down the moment he no longer recognized me as food, the same situation applied now.


    “Do you still have any cards left?”


    Lehric, the Demon Lord of Deception—constantly tricking others, manipulating them like toys, a magician who fooled the entire audience.


    “...”


    As someone who had clashed with Lehric several times, I was now sure.


    The sight of him glaring at me with his mouth shut and the palpable anger he was emanating were certainly not false.


    Furthermore, it was as good as admitting defeat.


    “Well, if you have run out of tricks.”


    It was regrettable, but...


    “It is time to get down from the stage.”


    Velica in my right hand let out a strange cry, signaling that the end was near.


    Any further struggle would only make his death even more disgraceful.


    “Do you really plan on ending it like this?”


    Though Lehric’s skin was already pale, he looked even more ashen as he tried to sway me.


    It was a desperate attempt tinged with a hint of sarcasm.


    “Fine. I lost. I’ve lived my entire life walking on a tightrope, so falling off means death.”


    He seemed to have accepted his defeat more easily than expected.


    Considering that the sole reason demons lived was to indulge in their pleasures, at this point, with no room for escape or trickery, it probably felt no different from death.


    “But are you really going to kill me?”


    Yet, the reason he continued speaking didn’t simply feel like he was pleading for his life.


    “You must already know. I can assist you in quite a few ways.”


    “...”


    “Velica? She can obviously lend you power to fight better. However, you wouldn’t have much trouble without her either.”


    A surge of blue mana flowed from my left hand as I tightened my grip around Lehric’s throat. Despite the cold blade held against his neck, Lehric smiled lifelessly.


    “I don’t think you made this choice because of emotional turmoil.”


    “...”


    “Tell me for the last time. Do you really think that the value of killing me is greater than the benefits I offered?”


    Even though he now knew that he was about to die,


    Even though he knew his soul would not attain rest, but be completely annihilated,


    Lehric looked at me with anticipation.


    “What is it? Lemegeton, Dream Demon Manor, a Demon Lord’s soul—what do you value more than all of these?!”


    It was almost laughable to the point of being annoying.


    However, before giving him an answer, I glanced at the Dark Spiritualist.


    Initially, I questioned myself, wondering why Lehric made me feel such anger and put me in an emotional turmoil. However, only after seeing her did I grasp the reason.


    Surely, many souls were saved.


    More than 20,000 souls he had captured over the years would soon be liberated.


    I would also be able to fulfill my promise to save Ophelia’s daughter, who was forced to kill people whenever her mother’s love turned cold.


    Yet, there was still something unresolved...


    “I have not addressed Han So and Jenny’s resentment.”


    Those two friends I made in the Dream Demon Manor.


    Because of the promise I made to these two remarkable individuals,


    For that reason alone, I would annihilate Lehric.


    [M-me?]


    The Dark Spiritualist beside me looked flustered but seemed very dissatisfied with being called by name.


    In contrast, Lehric looked at me in utter shock.


    “Are you talking about the connection you made in the Dream Demon Manor?”


    He had to confirm if he had heard me correctly.


    Seeing me nod slightly, he opened his eyes wide like a condemned prisoner finally realizing the reality and shouted in protest.


    “Are you kidding me?! They were just... just beings within an illusion! They were mere fakes made from fragments of memory!”


    “...”


    “You could have accessed so many secrets! Does it make sense to discard the soul of a Demon Lord, which could provide you with infinite benefits, just for those damned beings?! Am I really supposed to believe that?!”


    “It seems that you value yourself more highly than I thought.”


    Unlike me.


    On hearing that additional remark, Lehric gnashed his teeth in anger, not towards me, but towards those around me.


    “Where has your calm and composure gone?! The ones who sought benefits and rushed toward their goals—where on earth have they disappeared?!”


    “...”


    “This is regression! Ah! Arggggghhhh! You have regressed! You have degenerated! You have become tainted! You have become ignorant! How can you make such foolish choices so confidently?!”


    It might have appeared that way to him.


    I must have looked like foo, who was willing to forfeit the immediate profits in front of me for Jenny and Han So, who could also be considered false beings.


    Regression?


    Degeneration?


    Of course, it could also be called that.


    However...


    “Indeed, our perspectives have been really different from the very beginning.”


    Even though we expressed different opinions upon witnessing my true desire—the path of penance and journey—we were still observing the same thing but expressing it differently.


    It was the same now.


    “Does it look like regression to you?”


    If so, he could think of it like that and close his eyes.


    Those who lived with emotional stimulants like pleasure and entertainment, like Demon Lords, would not understand.


    A friendship arrived like a long-awaited rain, breaking through my emotional numbness.


    The satisfaction I felt in experiencing it was profound.


    Hence, I wouldn’t call this a regression.


    “To me, it is growth.”


    And just like that, blue flames engulfed the body and soul of the Demon Lord of Deception, Lehric.


    It began to consume him completely.


    Yet, he still wore an expression of confusion, unable to comprehend what I just said.