"Hmm."
In the plains where the frontier camp of the Destruction Demon Army was once situated, Yu IlHan, together with his subordinates and the Dragon's Army, was having a banquet when Liera, who was eating wolfkin meat by Yu IlHan's side, suddenly shivered.
"What is it, Liera? Do you...."
"I'm going to slap you if you ask me if I want to go to the toilet."
"….f, feel cold?"
Yu IlHan changed the subject, thinking she definitely had some sort of mind-reading skill. Liera grabbed one of his hands tightly, perhaps to skip over his lie, or rather because something much graver was about to happen.
"A new woman appeared that's aiming for you. I'm sure about this."
"...Oh, okay."
Yu IlHan wanted to shake Liera's hand, but she didn't allow it.
"The power of the god of love is speaking to me. I'm absolutely convinced."
"Yes, I believe you. So let go of my hand and eat some more meat."
Of course, he lied. Although he had barely realized he possessed some kind of charm that had earned him the love of two women, he was almost fed up with Liera's overcautiousness around other women.
However, his thoughts vaporized when Liera opened her mouth again.
"Helièna. 7th class. Succubus. Level 519. 33,985 years old. 3rd Battalion Commander of the Destruction Demon Army. Her main skills are..."
"...What?"
"Charm magic, and she possesses these titles..."
Liera muttered like that for ages, and when she finally finished, she glared at Yu IlHan, panting.
"Did you remember everything?"
"... Well, yeah, I did, but how do you know so many details about that frightening woman?"
"With the power of the god of love! I found out that such a woman is aiming for you!"
By this point, Yu IlHan couldn't ignore Liera's words so easily. To think she had the ability to find out all the information on the beings of the opposite gender that were aiming for him… The power of the god of love was amazing! But why didn't it activate against those of the same gender?
Liera immediately resolved Yu IlHan's question.
"The mechanisms behind this make it such that I can't find out about those that aim for you physically."
"So it's an ability that seems helpful while it's really not that helpful at all."
The problem lay in the fact that, despite the considerable time that had passed since she received the blessing, it was only now that Yu IlHan came to know of that ability. Of course, it did help substantially since the one trying to seduce him was a strong enemy of 7th class!
"Anyway, we've got to retreat. Another 7th class? And a succubus specializing in seduction at that!? This is no time for a banquet. Let's go back to Earth!"
"No."
Yu IlHan slowly shook his head.
"We can't just leave while dumping Erta here. Also, the magic formation will set off an alarm when that woman appears, so we don't have to be in such a hurry; this woman aiming for me and that woman actually finding me are different matters altogether.... And perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
Yu IlHan stood up from his seat and took a few steps backwards before touching the ground. The part where his hand was in contact with the ground glowed blue. Naturally, this area was within the magic formation.
"Let's see, you said it was Helièna, right..."
"...What are you trying to do?"
"Although it will be difficult to prepare against a completely unknown enemy, if we have that amount of information, we can do something with the magic formation even if it is a 7th-class being."
Of course, killing one was a different matter altogether... such a thought flashed through his mind.
Perhaps true chaos would ensue if he managed to manipulate the current Heaven's Army and the Garden of Sunset, which had relations with Erta?
"Very good. Liera. It's wonderful that we got to know of that woman beforehand. You're the best."
"Wow, you're making a really evil smirk... so cool."
Besides Liera, who thought that Yu IlHan was cool no matter what he did, Na YuNa showed up. On one hand, she had a massive piece of bone with meat attached, and on the other, she had a glass of the fruit wine that Yu IlHan had brewed himself, with cookie crumbs around her lips.
"So there's a woman who dares to seduce our Mr. IlHan?"
"I meant you!"
"Unni, I'm only trying to support him from the side!... if possible, forever, and if also possible, right by his side?"
"You're the most dangerous, YOU ARE!"
Ignoring the two women who started to quarrel, Yu IlHan entered the information into the magic formation.
Right now, he was saying this easily to put the others at ease, but whatever he did, a 7th-class was a frightening enemy. Any amount of preparation was likely to be insufficient.
Although he had won against Echjar by a fluke, this was vastly different. She was an enemy unlike any he had faced before, whether in her abilities or her race! Moreover, if she was in the Destruction Demon Army, she should have information about Yu IlHan's dimensional teleportation ability. It would be nearly impossible to use the trick he used against Echjar once again.
The worst part about the Demon Destruction Army was that reasoning did not work against them. They just did whatever they wanted!
'But if there's something fortunate, it's that this is a relatively easy enemy....'
By acquiring Echjar's records, he could learn his specific stats. And he was about to fall into despair, thinking all 7th-class beings had such high stats, but... from what Liera had told him about her, the 7th-class succubus, Helièna, was very much lacking in stats compared to Echjar. In fact, she was similar to what Liera had been in 6th class.
Perhaps the race of dragons is special, or the race of succubi is lacking; he didn't know, but according to Liera's information, it seemed doable.
'Of course, it does pain me that she is overwhelming in regards to psychological magic; I can't block charms completely with just Higher curse resistance. I was done in by Echjar due to the gap in leagues even though I had mastered Higher curse resistance and acquired immunity to curses as the characteristics of the Hell Bringer class… and 7th class charm should be no different from that, if not worse.'
She had mastered an unspeakably high realm of charm. Who knows how many times she evolved that skill. In any case, a 7th class was a 7th class. Even if she lacked personal might, she could compensate with magic.
Once was enough for him to get beaten up, despite his faith in his skills. Yu IlHan gritted his teeth and stood up.
"I've finished entering the information. Fortunately, she hasn't come to Dareu yet."
"Hm? But there's still something to do?"
"Of course, there's something I have to finish as soon as possible."
It was fortunate that he found out about the enemy in advance. Thanks to that, he could prepare for it like this.
Yu IlHan sighed lightly, dusted off his knees, and retreated far enough back so as not to bother those enjoying the banquet. Na YuNa and Liera also followed him.
"I wanted to save it up and give it to myself as a birthday present, but since things came to this, I can't help it."
"A present for yourself... your thought process is really like a loner. I'll give you a splendid present for your birthday this year! ...But what can't you help?"
"Oh, I think I get it..."
Na YuNa tilted her head, and Liera sweated cold sweat. Amidst that, Yu IlHan checked the surroundings to see if there was enough space and opened his inventory in midair.
The body of a gigantic black dragon emerged from within.
"Wao!"
"It's still absurd even when I see it now. Just how did we kill this guy...?"
While Na YuNa and Liera retreated, cold with sweat, Yu IlHan rubbed his cheeks against the head of the dragon's corpse, which barely retained its 7th-class power.
"Thanks for retaining your power!"
"That's the worst appreciation speech I've seen in my life."
Since a gigantic dragon corpse had appeared, his subordinates had no way to miss it. However, Yu IlHan just shook his hand, saying it was no big deal, and called out the Cradle of Miracles prior to dismantling it.
"Why did you take that out? Are you going to bathe here or something?"
"I can't just throw away the blood of a 7th-class dragon. This thing will collect all the blood and make it more concentrated."
"From when was such a hypertech attached to it!?"
"Here."
Yu IlHan let Liera check the information on the Cradle of Miracles. She hesitated before slowly extending her hand to touch the Cradle of Miracles. A series of magnificent texts appeared in her eyes!
[Cradle of Miracles]
[Rank – God]
[Durability – indestructible]
[Options –
1. Purifies and concentrates all materials containing mana.
2. Amplifies the power of the first option by 2 times against dragonkin materials.
3. Stimulates a positive mutation of all materials, but the direction cannot be willed.
4. Amplifies the power of the third option by 2 times against dragonkin materials.
5. Stimulates the evolution of all lifeforms that enter the cradle.
6. Amplifies the power of the fifth option by 3 times against all dragonkin.
7. Can enhance the abilities by consuming dragonkin materials.]
"What, is, this...?"
Liera muttered dumbfoundedly, and Yu IlHan answered in a bright voice.
"It's our shared bath."
"That's one luxurious bath you have right there…."
At the same time, it was also a key that showed the path he, Yumir and the others would have to walk on in the future. However, it was quite strange that the key was not related to his innate talents or the thousand years he had lived, but to an unintended crafting process.
Thinking back, this was the biggest miracle Yu IlHan may have encountered. In that sense, the name of this artifact was very suitable. And in the birth of this miracle, Erta's influence was absolute. Although she shouldn't have intended for this... he was only thankful to her for that – that was what he thought.
"Shared? Kyaa, so embarrassing, but if it's with you, I'm always wil...."
"I never said we'll go in together."
Yu IlHan dispelled Na Yuna's delusions, ignored Liera, who was dumbfounded, looking at the Cradle of Miracles, and began work.
By the 7th class, even his best dismantling knives wouldn't work, so he had to use the Eight-tailed dragon spear to dismantle it.
[Master, I think it's a little late to say this now, but.]
Orochi suddenly spoke to Ilhan just as he enchanted the Eight-tailed dragon spear, since even Superhuman strength was not enough.
"What is it?"
[Can't you just erase that thought-soul?]
[Kuoooooooooooooooh! YOUUUUUUUUUUUU! DARE DO THAT TO MY BODYYYYYYYY!]
Of course, Yu IlHan had successfully activated the Death Collector skill and acquired Echjar's thought-soul. Although he had thrown it somewhere deep since he didn't dare to touch him yet, it seemed that the effect he had on Orochi, as the same thought-soul, was quite big. Yu IlHan replied with a bitter smile.
"But that's such a waste, though."
[I'll say this now, but I have no confidence in winning against that guy.]
"It's fine. I'll do something about it soon."
[You think it will be over with just this? I'll EAT YOU ALLLLLLLLLL!]
If it were the immature Yu IlHan of before, he might have become scared by that, but it wasn't like that now. Being interfered with by a mere thought-soul was enough with Reta Kar'iha alone.
Yu IlHan had already mastered various skills related to souls, and had learned the advanced version, Falling Down. A mere fragment of Echjar's soul could not harm Yu IlHan. No matter how much he shouted, the body was dead after all!
"Just you wait. In the future you'll definitely be useful."
[Yu, YU ILHAAAAAAAN!]
He ignored Echjar's shouts and boldly picked up his Eight-tailed dragon spear, striking it right in the center of the head.
This was the beginning of a dismantling that would never happen in this world again (or in any other world, for that matter).