"Do it, Ma-Ri!"


    Jun-Seo looked back at the boisterous voice that yelled directly past his ear, seeing the burly man directly pressed behind him, now holding him in a tight lock with a single one of his muscr arms.


    "You–!?" Jun-Seo angrily snarled.


    Just as he released his innate, demonic power, blowing Korain back–STAB.


    There wasn''t enough time for him to react before the radiant needle stuck itself through his torso at a blinding speed.


    "Gyuh–!" He spit out ck blood.


    The thin rapier held within it an overwhelming amount of power, rtive to its small-seeming size–causing Jun-Seo to vomit out ck gunk before attempting to swipe at the girl.


    Just as he tried to retaliate, missing as the young woman plucked the de from his chest and jumped back with a sh step, he nearly fell over from the agonizing burn left within his body.


    Does she know where my hearts are?! No…She''s simply striking wherever–that holy element! It''s like a disease once it enters me–it''ll destroy any closeby hearts anyway–!!! Jun-Seo realized.


    "Damn you to Hell! I''m done ying with you!...I have a job to do!" Jun-Seo screamed out, beckoning his skull-handled sword to his hand.


    Just as the Artificial Devil rushed forward, he set his sights on the speedy, icy-eyed woman, swinging wildly towards her.


    Each sh left a destructive release of ck energy, but the devil man failed tond a hit; again and again, Ma-Ri shed around him with the ludicrous speed she possessed.


    But, it wasn''t enough–


    I can see you! Jun-Seo thought.


    With a twisted smile, after the new leader appeared behind him and unleashed a holy piercing, he flipped around and allowed the rapier to stab through his hand, clutching down on the needle.


    "--!" Ma-Ri looked on in surprise.


    Though she attempted to pull it out, the twisted figure''s grip was too strong; Jun-Seo held onto it, though steam exuded and sizzled the gray-skinned devil''s skin, he smiled.


    "I''ve got you now–I''ll finally end this farce!" Jun-Seo said, raising his rose-decorated broadsword.


    As the man raised the weapon, he was surprised to see there wasn''t a hint of fear on Ma-Ri''s expression; only that quiet, but determined anger.


    Why isn''t she…?! Jun-Seo thought.


    Squelch.


    In that moment, the only thought that crossed Jun-Seo''s mind was a simple, "Oh."


    The Artificial Devil realized why there wasn''t a semnce of worry on the young woman''s pale face: the hand that clutched the rapier was cut off in a massive swing of a shing ymore.


    "Raaaagh–!"


    With his single, right arm, Korain mmed his de through the Artificial Devil''s wrist, cutting it off in a clean strike as not a momentter, Ma-Ri slid her rapier from the severed hand and jumped back.


    Jun-Seo didn''t waste a moment reattaching his severed hand through the reconnecting of ck, flesh threads, using his raised de, instead of attacking his intended target who jumped back, to block against the next, boorish strike from the white-and-ck haired man.


    "Ghhh!" Korain clenched his teeth.


    The two-meter tall, burly man, dressed in his ivory armor nted his greaves down before shouting out while contesting Jun-Seo''s guard: "Cast: Abandon: Stage Two!"


    "Korain, that''s dangerous in your condition…!" Ma-Ri looked on.


    But, the augmentation spell was already cast as Korain''s tannedplexion shifted to a strained red, with his veins stretching over his skin while pressing against the Artificial Devil''s raised sword with further strength.


    "...Even with one arm, you''re…!" Jun-Seo began to struggle.


    Korain paid no mind to his words, pressing forward, "Ma-Ri…!"


    "--!" Jun-Seo''s eyes widened, realizing again what was happening.


    Throughout this bout, while suffering from destroyed hearts, the leader of the yer killing group was finding himself subject to one concept that again and again, took him by surprise: the immacte teamwork between the two.


    While he was busy holding both arms up now, gripping his bone-handled de tightly against Korain''s ymore, he could see the newly-appointed leader dashing towards him with that flickering agility.


    …Despite just losing their leader, they''re not even distraught? Their senses aren''t dulled?! How–?! Jun-Seo questioned.


    The devil had to make a choice right then and there between holding back the heavy greatsword that was trying to swing down on him and taking the blow from the shining rapier, or stepping out of the way and risking that burly sword from cleaving into him.


    –He did neither.


    With a nimble movement, he ducked down, immediately elbowing the burly man right in his toned abdomen before swinging around and shing des against Ma-Ri, repeatedly deflecting the series of piercing blows that came his way.


    "Ngh–!" Korain spit out as the air from his lungs was removed with that blow.


    It was an opportunity that the Artificial Devil crafted for himself, now being able to fight one-on-one with the speedy woman.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ng. Klink. ng.


    Jun-Seo smiled as he managed tofortably guard against the series of strikes, taunting the girl, "--You''ll never measure up to your fallen leader like this!"


    This sparked only a slight flinch of Ma-Ri''s eyes, but the next move she made, the man sensed could only be a response made out of spite:


    "Cast: One-Thousand Winters!" Ma-Ri shouted out.


    Invoking the magecraft, she had leapt back, repeatedly thrusting her exuberant de against the air as the Artificial Devil watched in surprise.


    Spawning from each precise strike against the wind, massive formations of ice reached out with blinding speed, surrounding the devil in its cold grip as they bound his limbs and pierced through him.


    Jun-Seo clenched his teeth, flexing his limbs as that simple gesture summoned enough strength topletely shatter the cold around him.


    "The cold will not restrain me!" Jun-Seo yelled out, nearly slurring his words before–


    STAB.


    A sh of light filled the abhorrent devil''s eyes before his entire head filled with a warmth that swiftly turned into a scorching heat.


    The holy-infused de stabbed right between his eyes, piercing through the back of his head.


    "Guehhh…"


    Having his brain skewered by the heavenly light that served as the very bane of his flesh, Jun-Seo drooled, losing all function of his body momentarily before his fingers twitched again.


    The moment Ma-Ri noticed it–that reaction came toote.


    Like a whip, Jun-Seo flung his arm brutally against the woman''s stomach, causing her de to slide out from his skull, leaving a cut through his head before being flung back.


    "Ma-Ri!"


    Korain managed to step into the path the young woman was flying back towards, catching her in his arms as he slid back several meters in doing so.


    "Gkk…"


    Ma-Ri coughed up droplets of blood as she stood on her own. It became clear what type of damage was inflicted once she was standing, causing Korain to wince.


    Through the girl''s white-and-ck, knight-like uniform, the abdominal region of the mystical fabric had been torn away, leaving a massive stretch of bruising mixed with a bleeding friction burn on her pale stomach.


    "Ma-Ri, are you…?" Korain asked worriedly.


    The ck-haired young woman wiped the blood from her lips before nodding, holding herself straight, "I''m fine."


    Though the man wanted to contest her words, he knew he would only be a hypocrite with the state his body was in as well, opting to stand beside her.


    "Looks like he''s still moving, even after you plucked his brain matter…What a monster," Korain muttered.


    "I noticed it when I stabbed him before," Ma-Ri said.


    "Noticed what?" Korain looked at her.


    Ma-Ri readied her weapon, "...I felt my de destroy a beating organ–likely a heart. After that, he seemed actually affected by the damage he took. It seems he has multiple of those, and…Dae-Seong might''ve taken care of a few for us already."


    He looked surprised at this information then smiled with teary ears, pointing his ymore towards the Artificial Devil, "Then let''s finish what he started for us–let''s not waste the opportunity he opened up for us!"


    "Right!"


    Just as they set forth, Jun-Seo finally regenerated from having his brain skewered, wiping the drool from his chin as his loopy eyes reset, fixing himself.


    How troublesome. Demonification wasn''t nearly as strong as I had hoped–I guess that''s the issue here; I need to consume to grow after undergoing demonification. Damn it…! Jun-Seo thought.


    This time, Jun-Seo manifested massive swirls of dark energy around his hands, condensing it into spheres that he tossed towards the approaching two.


    "Die and be my growth–!" Jun-Seo yelled out.


    The massive sts of darkness were countered as Ma-Ri dashed forward, enhancing her rapier with a more potent glow.


    "Cast: Heaven''s Storm."


    With acrobatic movements–flipping through the air and dancing around in elegant movements, all while carrying her momentum forward, Ma-Ri left a trail of light from her de as she swiped it and pierced.


    The result of the light trail was an explosive release of light that swallowed the darkness, leaving her continuing forward with Korain rushing just a bit behind.


    "Nrgh–!" Jun-Seo watched in anger before shifting to a new assault.


    This time, Jun-Seo opted to wield his de again, engulfing it in a swirling mix of ck and crimson energy before rapidly shing it–FWOOSH.