BAM!
Leon was hit hard and sent flying to the ground. Above him, a figure laughed heartily with golden-yellow eyes sparkling.
"Oops, sorry! Sorry! I bumped into you again!"
Sylvaine let out a long sigh. "Sylphine... you again."
Sylphine stood before Leon, full of enthusiasm. "Let's duel again, Leon! Weapons, magic, or mixed?"
Leon was still rubbing his sore head. "I... already said, I can't today."
"Come on, just a little bit! We'll use only physical strength! Come on, come on!"
"That hyperactive girl," Satan muttered in his head. "But her power... is no joke."
Leon ignored the comment. "But—"
"Enough, no more protests!"
Sylvaine tried to intervene. "Sylphine, he has a mission to carry out—"
But Sylphine was already dragging Leon's arm towards the training ground.
---
At the training ground, Sylphine stopped and turned around. Her smile was wide, but her eyes were sharp—sharp like a hunter who had found interesting prey.
"I can't wait," she said, her voice lower than usual.
Leon fell silent. He didn't know how to respond.
"She's stronger than she looks," Satan whispered. "Be careful."
"Come on, show me." Sylphine took a fighting stance. "One round. You can defend, attack, or run. But I want to see what you can do."
Leon looked at Sylvaine, who only shrugged in resignation. "She won't stop until she gets what she wants."
Leon sighed. "Alright."
---
The battle began.
Sylphine shot forward like lightning. Her speed was incredible—in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Leon, her punch aimed directly at his body.
Leon could only dodge with pure reflex. His body moved before his mind could process.
"Good," Satan commented. "But you'll die here if you only rely on reflexes."
Sylphine didn't give him time. Second, third, fourth attacks she launched, fast and deadly. Leon dodging them began to struggle. Some attacks were blocked, but more landed on his body.
Blood began to flow from the wound on his arm.
"You know," Sylphine said between attacks, "most demons I meet, when they're injured, they panic. But you..."
She paused her attacks for a moment, staring at Leon with curiosity. "You actually become calmer. Why?"
Leon didn't answer. But he knew the answer.
"Because I've already died once," he thought.
"Pain like this... is nothing."
"There, that's it," Satan whispered. "Use that."
Sylphine attacked again. This time, Leon didn't just defend. He began reading her movements.
Leon watched. When Sylphine prepared for her next jump, he was already moving to the side. Her punch missed.
"Oho?" Sylphine smiled widely. "Starting to read my movements?"
Leon didn't answer. He focused.
The battle continued. Leon, beginning to adapt, made their fight more balanced. Every punch that landed, every attack they exchanged only made them more spirited.
"You're... quite stubborn too," Satan commented, his tone strange. Not sarcastic, not mocking. Almost... appreciative.
"Look out!" Sylvaine suddenly shouted.
Sylphine had already leaped high, a deadly punch descending, and Leon, knowing this, prepared his own counter.
But he didn't need to dodge.
"STOP!"
Zephyr appeared between them, one hand catching Sylphine's punch, the other catching Leon's.
"Enough," he said, his deep voice full of authority.
"Sylphine, you know the rules. This is training, not slaughter."
Sylphine grimaced, but her eyes still sparkled. "Sorry, Brother. But he... is amazing!"
Zephyr looked at Leon. "Are you alright?"
Leon nodded, though he was breathless and blood flowed from several wounds. "I'm fine, Your Majesty."
"You're not fine, boy," Satan grumbled. "But I like how you answered."
Zephyr smiled faintly. "Good. Since you're about to undertake your first mission, you should heal your wounds first."
Leon nodded, still catching his breath. "Alright, I'll take my leave, Your Majesty."
---
After healing his wounds, Leon prepared in his room. Black armor with the Belphegor emblem was neatly fitted. A sword at his waist. And sufficient supplies.
"You're nervous," Satan's voice sounded.
Leon didn't deny it. "My first mission. Before, I was just bait. Sent forward, die, done."
"And now?"
Leon stared at his own reflection in the mirror. "Now... I don't want to die. At least, not until I've succeeded in helping you, Lord Satan." He hesitated, "...actually, who was it that killed you, Lord Satan?"
A long silence.
Then Satan laughed. Not a mocking laugh, but a laugh like an old man hearing his grandchild ask something amusing.
"You want to know my story, boy?"
"Yes."
"If you're still alive tomorrow... maybe I'll give you a little clue."
Leon smiled faintly. "Deal."
---
Afterwards, Leon stepped out of the palace gates. Seventy demon soldiers were already neatly lined up in the courtyard.
"Today, you will lead them," said Zephyr, who suddenly appeared beside him.
"This is your first test. Not just to gauge your strength, but also your leadership."
Leon looked at the soldiers. Hard faces, battle-ready. Waiting for his command.
"Confused?" Satan whispered.
Leon took a breath. Then he stepped forward.
"Alright, all troops. Thirty shield-bearers at the front. Twenty mages and fifteen archers in the middle ranks. The remaining five at the rear as reserves."
The soldiers upon hearing this moved with discipline, following the order.
Zephyr smiled with satisfaction.
Zephyr raised his hand to signal the mages to perform teleportation magic. "Prepare for teleportation!"
Three... two... one...
WHOOSH!
They arrived in the forest and were immediately greeted by a horrifying scene. Half the forest was scorched. Smoke billowed to the sky. The smell of burnt wood and death filled the air.
In the distance, fifty wolf monsters ran swiftly towards them. They were the size of horses. White fur with sharp spines. Blazing red eyes. Claws crackling with electricity.
"ATTACK!" Leon shouted.
The battle erupted.
Lightning mages unleashed their strikes. Fifteen wolves immediately collapsed. Archers followed, arrows embedding precisely in the enemies' eyes.
But suddenly—
The wolves rose again.
"Not dead?!" a soldier cried out.
Thick fog enveloped the battlefield. And from within the fog, a giant figure emerged—four meters tall, horns crackling with lightning.
The pack leader.
He opened his mouth, and a thunderous voice came out. "Weak demons... you will all become our prey!"
A giant lightning bolt shot forth, killing the mages and rear ranks in a single attack.
Only fifteen soldiers remained, and they too were instantly annihilated by the wolf pack leader.
Leon, watching all his soldiers die, clenched his fist. Blood trickled from his temple.
"You still have a way out of this," Satan whispered. "You have power within you. Use it."
Leon understood.
He raised his hand—not to attack, but to summon.
"Arise."
Behind him, a spatial rift appeared. From within emerged a figure in black armor with glowing white lines on his body, standing tall with a large black sword.
He knelt before Leon.
"Mas... ter..." his voice was hoarse, like someone waking from a nightmare.
Leon smiled wearily. "You... from now on, you are Valker."
"Valker..." the soldier repeated. "Accepting... orders."
"Good," Satan whispered. "You have your first truly powerful soldier."
Leon rose. Before him, the leader monster still raged. But this time, he was not alone.
"Valker." Leon pointed at the monster.
"Destroy him."
Valker turned. For the first time, something appeared in his empty eyes—not emotion, but... desire.
With impossible speed for a corpse, he shot forward. His sword drawn. In one slash, the leader monster's neck was severed.
The giant head fell to the ground. Its body collapsed.
The battlefield fell silent.
The wolf soldiers, seeing their leader killed in an instant by the figure before them, had fear clearly reflected on all their faces.
They had just witnessed something they had never seen—an ordinary demon summoning something powerful, and that something killing them all without them even realizing it in a single, instantaneous slash.
Leon didn't care. He just stood among the corpses, staring at the grey sky.
"You survived this time," said Satan. "But this is only the beginning."
Leon nodded slowly.
=== CHAPTER 3 END ===