The book opened with such natural ease.
To Kim Dojin, it was nothing remarkable, but both within and without him, chaos erupted.
“How... how could this be?”
Outside, Dantalion.
-“How did you open that...?”
Inside, Gula.
He had merely seen it.
The color and flow of the mana imbued within the book.
All he did was adjust his own mana to match it, creating a resonance.
It was as easy as pie for Kim Dojin.
However, explaining this method wasn't easy, nor did he particularly want to.
“…It just opened?”
“Th-that's impossible. The Book of Dantalion is only permitted to me...!”
“Guess it decided to switch owners now that you're about to die, huh?”
“Th-that kind of...?!”
He ignored the other's reaction.
Right now, he was simply curious about the contents of the Book of Dantalion.
What kind of information could it possibly hold?
Could he truly see the past, present, and future of the world, just as Dantalion claimed?
He swallowed dryly, shifting his gaze to the open book. It felt as if he were peeking into the secrets of the heavens, something no human should ever witness.
On the pristine white page, a single sentence was written.
“……”
Kim Dojin's face stiffened at the sight.
The content was incredibly difficult to comprehend.
He roughly slammed the book shut and asked, “How exactly does this book display its contents?”
No matter how thick a book was, it couldn't possibly contain the entire past, present, and future of the world in a single volume. That meant the contents must change depending on how one viewed the book.
Dantalion sneered.
“Hehehe... it seems you saw something entirely unexpected.”
Kim Dojin's sword plunged into Dantalion's shoulder.
Thwack—!
“Just answer my question.”
Dantalion's face contorted in pain. He twisted his lips into a sneer and answered, as if doing Kim Dojin a favor.
“I don't know what you saw, but that is your desire.”
“…This is my desire?”
“Yes. What you so desperately wanted to know, what you craved, what you wished for.”
Each word pierced his chest. The wild thumping of his heart felt utterly unpleasant. He wanted to vehemently deny it, but he couldn't, which only made it worse.
“So that's how it is.”
His emotions turned chillingly cold.
Kim Dojin's blade sliced through Dantalion's neck.
Shk—
An attack delivered without a shred of hesitation.
Thud!
Roll, roll.
The vicious old man's face, eyes still wide open, fell and rolled across the floor.
“Kuh-heok...!”
Dantalion let out a groan of intense pain, curling his body.
He didn't die.
He wasn't much different from a human in that regard. If his head was severed, he would die. However, with multiple heads, losing one was merely painful; it wouldn't kill him.
“D-damn it...!”
A handsome man's face, which had replaced the severed head, spewed forth rage. All his remaining faces flushed crimson.
The life he had clung to, all to ascend to the Seven Deadly Sins, was being toyed with. And by the Apostle of that damned Gula, no less, the one who had inflicted such a crushing defeat hundreds of years ago, trapping him in this Rift.
‘Damn these bastards...!’
The rage that had surged to the top of his head calmed his reason, which had been running wild like an unbridled colt.
He admitted it.
There was no chance of survival here.
Hundreds of years.
He accepted the fact that he would have to endure another long cycle of reincarnation, perhaps for thousands of years.
But.
‘Do you think I'll just die like this...!’
As they say, even a cornered rat will bite a cat.
Kim Dojin, who had him on his knees like a fish caught in a net, seemed lost in thought. Even if he died, he would leave Kim Dojin with at least one regret.
‘Now!’
Dantalion instantly pushed off the ground. His body, propelled by fierce momentum, shot towards none other than where Im Na-eun was bound.
For Kim Dojin to come all this way to save her, her value to him must be considerable.
“I'll take you as my companion on the road to hell...!”
Dantalion reached her in an instant and thrust out his fist. His target was her chest. He intended to crush her heart in one swift move, making recovery utterly impossible.
Thwack!
He failed.
Kim Dojin, as if he had anticipated it, had rushed over and blocked his hand.
“This bastard is being disgusting to the very end.”
Flames surged in his eyes. His rage flowed directly from his hand into his sword.
The light pouring from the sword momentarily bleached everything white. Then, a low sound followed.
Shk—
Sguk-guk—
As his necks were severed, his vision skewed. One, two, three, four. His gazes, directed in various places, successively went dark.
Finally, only one head remained. And at the very moment Kim Dojin's blade inevitably flew towards it—
‘Now!’
Dantalion's long hand shot out towards Kim Dojin. A strike with all his might. A suicidal move only possible for one with multiple heads.
Crimson flames coiled around his fingertips.
“……!”
Kim Dojin, realizing this belatedly, twisted his body. A fierce strike. But he didn't feel any great threat. Though it was quite timely, it wasn't at a level he couldn't avoid.
As his hand sliced through the air, a deep smile spread across Dantalion's lips.
‘I expected it. That you would avoid this attack.’
That's why he hadn't even considered it. The idea of taking him as a companion to hell. He had only aimed for one thing.
The Book of Dantalion.
The flames coiled around his fingertips dropped towards the Book of Dantalion.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted.
Kim Dojin's face contorted.
“Damn it...!”
He put force into his thrusting sword, severing the opponent's last remaining neck. At the same time, he drew up mana with his other hand, attempting to freeze the flames engulfing the book, but—
Clang!
It didn't freeze. The flames showed no sign of weakening, steadily consuming the Book of Dantalion.
“Kekekekeke...!”
The last severed head mocked him.
“Do you think... I would hand over my treasure to you...?”
Kekeke!
The triumphant laughter, as if he had achieved his goal, grated on Kim Dojin's nerves.
He lifted his foot and stomped on the head, which was still laughing wantonly despite not being dead, crushing it.
Crunch!
The face shattered into pieces.
The ruined mouth continued to babble until the very end.
“This grudge... I will never forget it....”
The last words of the Great Demon, who had once coveted a seat among the Seven Deadly Sins, scattered and faded away forlornly.
Though it had been threatening, it wasn't a particularly dangerous fight.
The Great Demon Dantalion.
Once a powerful being strong enough to vie for a spot among the Seven Deadly Sins, he was now a fallen entity, having lost his power.
He lowered his gaze.
What met his eyes was the half-burnt book resting in his hand.
The Book of Dantalion.
He had managed to put out the fire somehow. But by then, more than half of it had already been consumed by the flames.
He opened the book, just in case, but—
“…Nothing.”
Unlike before, no sentences were written there. Only black scorch marks remained.
It was my mistake.
To make such a blunder at the very end.
“Hmph.”
As he let out a long sigh and closed the blackened book,
-“A pity. If that book had remained, the path ahead would have been considerably smoother.”
Tell me about it.
Though its limits were set, the power of the Book of Dantalion was undoubtedly immense. Its value would have been even greater for me, especially since I primarily deal with humans.
-“It is regrettable, but what can be done? It is already burnt.”
Hmm.
True.
If it hadn't burned, it would certainly have been a great help, but what can be done? It's already burnt.
Perhaps it was for the best.
At least the future of becoming a slave to the book would never come to pass.
He looked down at the blackened book once more. So, is this useless now?
Then Gula spoke.
-“No, that is not so.”
It's not useless?
-“Indeed. A faint trace of Dantalion's power remains. If entrusted to a skilled Artifact crafter, it could be fashioned into a rather useful grimoire.”
A grimoire...?
That's a new name to me. Not a spellbook for learning magic, but a grimoire?
Gula then asked, sounding puzzled.
-“You do not know of grimoires?”
I've never heard of them.
-“Hmph... I wondered why all the mages you've seen only carried staffs.”
Gula sighed deeply. She continued.
-“A grimoire, you could say, is an Artifact exclusively for mages.”
Its effect?
-“When you use a spell pre-recorded on a grimoire's pages, its power is amplified.”
Power amplification, huh. If that's the case, isn't it not much different from a staff? In fact, a staff that amplifies mana without needing pre-recording seems better.
-“What foolish talk. Why would you compare a staff and a grimoire?”
Why compare them? Well, obviously you can only hold one of them... wait. Could I be thinking about this wrong?
-“Yes. A grimoire can be used simultaneously with a staff.”
Whoa.
“This is amazing, then....”
...Perhaps it might even be better than the intact Book of Dantalion?
-“However, I am concerned. In this world, where grimoires have been lost to time, will there be anyone capable of repairing it?”
That is a bit of a concern, I admit. Still, wouldn't someone who's a master of Artifact crafting at least be able to attempt it? I'll have to put out a search for one sometime.
The Book of Dantalion, to be reborn as a new mage's Artifact: a grimoire.
That wasn't the only spoils of war.
He picked up Dantalion's sword, which lay abandoned where the demon had first fallen.
Vwooom!
The sword hummed, as if welcoming his touch.
“It's definitely a good sword.”
Now that he held it in his hand, the sword's true worth was even more palpable. Its wild nature, akin to a demonic sword that cut through everything it touched even without the wielder's intent, was a bit bothersome, but it was at a level that could be sufficiently controlled if tamed well.
It wasn't a sword he needed. If anyone were to use it, Seo-yeon would probably be a better fit.
He worried that her gentle nature might prevent her from properly taming the sword, but it would be fine. Her parents were Son Si-woo and Han Ju-hee. Both of them were famously ill-tempered in their youth.
“That's enough for the items.”
Not an item, but there was still one more thing left. The spoils he gained from killing Dantalion.
He turned away from what he had been deliberately ignoring and slowly walked over. Reaching Im Na-eun, who was still bound by black chains, he extended a hand and cupped her face.
“Hey.”
She was utterly despicable.
Perhaps that's why.
“Who told you to dig your own grave without your master's permission?”
This time, he was genuinely a little angry.