It's the 25th floor of the arena.
Yukrasion, the 9th master of the House of Mammon as well as the floor master of the 25th floor, turned to the special seat, sweating buckets, where Gusion was seated, sweating.
Gusion shook his head when she earnestly indicated she would like to surrender.
In the arena, a cruel testing place, there was no option like 'I want to surrender even without trying to fight at all.'
Yukrasion, who was about to cry, looked straight ahead. She felt like a terrifying and menacing mana was squeezing her body tightly.
Yukrasion took pride in her own strength. She had five horns, and her combat skills were advanced far enough because she practiced long enough in the arena.
However, she never thought that she would be able to beat this "monster" challenger in front of her now.
'Hey, this... It's against the rules!'
The challenger wasn't as strong as now until he successfully challenged up to the 24th floor. He had a soft spot as a human being because he almost died from suffocation.
Challenger Yong-ho released his full power in front of Yukrasion. He wanted to test how strong his power became after taking the essence of the King of Gluttony.
Enormous mana soared from his six towering horns. Their presence itself resonated with the whole area around him.
Yong-ho's mana, represented by the green flames, did not contain only Greed. It had the power of Gluttony, though a bit now, and Yong-ho's determination to "eat," which could be called Gluttony itself, caused instinctive fear in those who encountered him.
Yukrasion resembled Kaiwan. Since Yukrasion was Kaiwan's ancestor, it was correct to say the latter resembled the former.
Yong-ho wasn't very comfortable because the beauty with rich gray hair was trembling with a sad expression. However, he had no intention of relenting.
"Let me end this fighting with just one blow!"
When he shouted mercifully, she clenched her teeth and released mana. Facing her, though, he lifted Aamon in his right hand and concentrated mana at once.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Yukrasion rushed, screaming like crazy, but Yong-ho swung Aamon. As he promised, he punched her down with just a single blow.
"What a cruel guy!" Cried Gusion.
"But her pain must have been very short."
When Yong-ho replied casually, Gusion narrowed his eyes further. Then, he added, pretending to be startled, "What a scary guy!"
Her last screaming was sadness itself. It was so sad that Yong-ho got worried for a moment whether death in the arena would actually lead to actual death.
Despite that, Yong-ho was calm and composed. Maybe he might react differently, but he was a thorough combatant during battle.
'That's why I like him.'
Murmuring to himself, Gusion smiled, as if his criticism of Yong-ho until a moment ago was fake.
Kaiwan hugged Yong-ho's arm tightly and said, "Yukrasion has a good personality. So, you will be fine."
It seemed Kaiwan's words were out of place, but Yong-ho nodded because Yukrasion didn't look like a bad person.
When they began to talk less and less, the flames of the red lotus arose. Aamon, who was with Yong-ho even during battle unlike he was before, asked Gusion gently, [What do you think about our master's power's growth, Gusion?]
Now, Aamon changed the way he called Yong-ho. His title was now 'master,' not 'young master' like before.
Gusion, who went to the trouble of differentiating between 'young master' and 'master,' didn't miss his title change, of course.
Instead of looking at Yong-ho up and down, Gusion smiled and looked at his eyes, which were normally emitting a green light. Gusion admitted it, too.
"You have definitely gotten stronger. Much stronger!"
To simply talk about the strength of mana, Yong-ho was the strongest among those who visited the arena for the last one thousand years.
And Gusion knew that it was not just his mana that saw a dramatic growth. Yong-ho was as hard as steel that went through repeated quenching. Not only in the arena but also in other places, he experienced deadly fighting again and again.
Victory in fighting was not determined simply by one's mana and physical strength. Fighting spirit and fighting skills, bold judgment, and flexible thinking affected one's victory and defeat greatly.
The Yong-ho in front of Yukrasion was very good at fighting. Besides, he had lots of fighting experiences through numerous deadly fighting.
For the first time since becoming the owner of the arena, Gusion began to have expectations for Yong-ho.
"Don't hesitate. Come up quickly. I am on the 39th floor," said Gusion.
For the first time, Gusion informed the challenger of his specific location in the arena.
'Yeah, because I trust him and I have expectations for him.'
Gusion was convinced that Yong-ho would definitely overcome all the difficulties that would stand before him on the 39th floor one day.
Yong-ho nodded when he looked at Gusion's intense eyes.
He said with a cheerful expression, "Not now. Let me go back to my hometown first. Oh, I've got Scathach's letter for you."
"Huh?"
Although Gusion was perplexed because he didn't challenge the next floor, Yong-ho quickly turned. Kaiwan, who was holding his arm, said, "I'll buy you a present."
"See you next time."
Catalina also turned, waving her tail gently.
Finally, Aamon spoke, [See you next time, man.]
Yong-ho didn't need to be escorted by the man with a beast mask. He walked out of the arena with big strides.
Gusion, looking at the spot blankly where Yong-ho and his party left, turned his eyes at Scathach's letter. He nodded when he read her message that she wanted to meet him soon, not just saying, 'I miss you.'
Gusion again looked toward the passage through which Yong-ho went out.
He smiled gently, which didn't befit his image normally.
***
Gardimundi soared into the sky. She held a letter from the master of the House of Mammon in her arms, and some gifts in Sarasvati's pocket on her waist. Of course, among the gifts were the special product, fried chicken.
The master himself visited the Free City. His visit was very unusual, which was a strong indication that he, too, treated Gardimundi, the messenger of the Queen of Fury, with respect.
However, Gardimundi thought about it in another aspect.
Why did he visit the Free City directly without calling her to his place?
Of course, some of the masters did not want to expose their dungeons to outsiders, so they handled all their diplomatic affairs at the dungeon entrance.
However, the House of Mammon once admitted Gardimundi into the dungeon recently.
So, it didn't make any sense that they didn't want to let her enter the dungeon this time.
'Is it because the entrance to the dungeon was destroyed?'
The House of Mammon was attacked. The entrance to the dungeon, which was built so strongly as to resist any attack, was destroyed entirely, so the attack must have been very devastating.
The master of the House of Mammon told her that the alien people attacked them by intruding into the twisted door of space.
Was it really true?
If he lied, why did he make up such a lie?
The farthest area of Mammon's dungeon, namely Enkatro Pagnium, was notorious for the unstable flow of mana. It was not easy to find the traces of twisting because the flow of mana was strong there in the first place.
'Well, the Mammon people are friendly to us anyway.'
Rationally speaking, it was natural that Yong-ho welcomed her because his alliance with the Queen of Fury would be beneficial to him anyway.
'He got stronger.'
The master of the House of Mammon never opened his horns in front of Gardimundi. But she could feel something different about him between now and then. He was stronger than when she met him last time. And it was the same with the women on his left and right.
Perhaps, it was the attack that made them stronger.
'Given the outcome of the attack, though…'
Unlike Kirtimuka, who was making a big fuss over the possible alliance in excitement, in fact, Gardimundi initially did not take seriously the "marriage" of her master Dritarastra, the Queen of Fury. It was because she didn't think the master of the House of Mammon was the right candidate to be her king.
But she changed her perception of the Mammon master. It didn't matter that the House of Mammon was weak.
The master of the House of Mammon and his subordinate spirits were strong. Of course, he was not powerful enough, but she felt he could stand before her master proudly.
Finding the bridegroom candidate among the eight-clan people was not beneficial to the king.
So, her alliance with a powerful outside force would be of great help to her people.
Gardimundi loved and cherished the Queen of Fury very much. But she was a king. Her marriage was not something about her own matter as a king, but something she had to take into account for the interests of her people.
Gardimundi flapped her wings a little faster. She flew fast through the sky of the demon world with her red wings, which was called the fastest among the Garura clan.
Exactly one day had passed since Yong-ho woke up. All of the dungeon spirits of the House of Mammon gathered in the room where the door of the space was located.
[This time, you have consumed the mana of not two, but three among us.]
[Fortunately, you did not use the mana stored in the dungeon when you fought the King of Gluttony.]
[Of course, if you come back after your visit, it looks like even the stored mana will be running out.]