''Ku.Ku.Ku. Tell me why you have that confidence. You can't summon it since your stupid action earlier caused your pet's death. Now, what else can you use to face me? Don't tell me you'll defeat me with your own strength.''
The demon chuckled, trying to provoke Morris.
Morris scoffed.
''I know I can't defeat you by pure force…but it can kill you.''
In an instant, Morris took an agate ring from his pocket. The ring glimmered with a dark, groggy light, making the demon flinch for a moment.
''Are you afraid of it?'' Morris smiled.
Sure enough, at this moment, for the first time, the demon showed a hint of worry on his face. He stepped back a few paces while controlling his voice to make it sound like he wasn't afraid at all.
''What do you think? Just a white-tier item. Why would I be frightened by that useless ring?''
Morris shook his head slightly and said,
''You can't lie to me. Even if this ring is just a white-tier item, any demon would be scared of it…because the ring belongs to the Demon King.''
He added in a mocking tone,
''An inferior demon like you could never face the Demon King's power…this ring represents the Demon King's supreme power.''
Morris sighed, a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he thought about his friend. If he could have used the ring from the start, he wouldn't have had to kill his friend… but because of the rules of the challenge, he could only use it in a one-on-one duel with the demon.
If only he had known a bit more about the challenge of the nameless god. But he never expected the challenge would change this much. With only that old piece of information from his uncle, it was too hard for him to finish the whole challenge without killing his friend.
Maybe the most crucial information in the trash from his uncle was about fighting demons in hell. That's why his father had prepared the Demon King's ring for him.
He would fulfill his uncle's will and take the reward of the nameless god—the strongest and most mysterious god.
He put the ring on his finger and commanded the demon with a cold voice:
''Kill yourself.''
''N-Noooooooo—'' The demon screamed in fury, struggling to control his disobedient body. He shivered nonstop…until suddenly he lifted the corners of his lips and burst out laughing. He leaned lightly on his longsword and grinned.
''I'm just kidding.''
Morris grimaced and shouted again,
''Kill yourself right now!''
But the demon only shrugged and yawned.
''I-Impossible… My father gave me this ring. It can't be a counterfeit.'' For the first time, Morris showed real worry and confusion on his face. He couldn't accept the reality in front of him. He kept commanding the demon to commit suicide in panic.
But that last bit of hope vanished. He started shivering and stepping back, all his earlier arrogance gone.
Just pure terrifying.
The slave frowned, rubbing his chin as the situation shifted nonstop. He muttered,
''If the ring isn't fake, but it still doesn't affect the demon… then there's only one reason.''
He gazed at the demon cautiously.
''He's not an inferior demon. Maybe… he's a Demon King.''
For some reason, the demon heard exactly what the slave said. He let out a sigh and glanced at him.
''It's not funny at all…but I like you. You're a special toy, not a boring one.''
He smiled at Morris and raised his hand, sending a stream of mysterious mana into nowhere.
''Come to me, my ring.''
The ring slowly slipped off Morris's finger and floated onto the demon's palm. He looked at it affectionately, as if it had been his possession from ages ago.
''Thank you, boring toy, for returning my ring after so many centuries.''
He chuckled at Morris's confused expression and continued,
''Well, it's a long tale. Once, I spared another boring toy and released him into the real world. Ah… he performed his mission perfectly. I really wanted to thank him, but now… I guess he's already dead?
''And you're his family?''
Morris fell silent, clenching his fist in helplessness. He understood everything the moment the demon said that. His uncle had been the demon's apostle. His uncle had lied to everyone in the family.
From the start, he had fallen into a webtrap set by the demon. There was no valuable information about the nameless god's reward—Morris was just a tool to return the ring to the Demon King.
Now he no longer had any use… and he would probably die next.
This place was truly hell. No one could survive it.
''Don't show that sad face. Cheer up—because you're going to be a part of me.''
The demon smiled ghostly.
''Finally, I can escape this fucking cell. You can't do anything to me, nameless god, because I haven't touched the rules of the challenge yet.''
''Finally!'' He laughed loudly, raised his longsword, and stabbed it through his own abdomen to everyone's shock.
''You win, boring toy,'' the demon said weakly before collapsing.
Even though Morris had technically won, something felt terribly wrong. A bad feeling crawled up his spine.
His fear was confirmed when the demon's body dissolved into a cloud of darkness and shot toward him at lightning speed. Even though Morris tried to run, it was useless against the Demon King.
…
Morris was possessed by the Demon King.
His body convulsed for a moment before he slowly stood up, revealing crimson pupils. He turned toward the slave and smiled while speaking to the slave in a soft, eerie voice:
''Let's finish the final challenge, special toy~~''
Well, the Demon King had bent the rules of the challenge. By killing himself, he made it impossible for anyone to complete the challenge by defeating the demon in a one-on-one duel. Because of that, the rules automatically shifted to decide the winner and who would receive the reward.
That was—
Alaric vs Morris… or, in other words: the slave vs the Demon King.