Chapter 10: The Trap of the Battle Devil and Demonic Blade
The One-Second Hope
In the morning, I walked toward the school, clutching my Lemonade Butter cup, trying desperately to reset my mind after the rooftop terror. Maybe this day is a peaceful day, I thought. Maybe I have some hope. I even managed a small, slightly twitchy smile.
But that hope lasted approximately one second.
I entered the classroom, and my eyes immediately locked onto Zane Rourke. He wasn't bored or quiet; he was sitting at his desk with his spirit katana half-drawn, radiating a chilling, eager killing instinct. His amber eyes were fixed on me with the same hungry glint they held yesterday.
I didn't hesitate. I dropped my cup and shouted, "Help me!" before immediately turning and running for my life.
The Most Embarrassing Chase
The chase was absurd. I was the literal Battle Devil, the master of time-breaking speed, but I was running full speed around desks and chairs, looking utterly silly and dodging Zane's Demon Blade like a frightened kitten.
The Demon Blade was a blur of black energy, chasing me with full speed, aiming to slice my head off. I looked like a little kid being chased by a dog—a very fast, very dangerous, demigod-level dog. The spiritual slashes came in a dense swarm, chasing me like a thousand wasps wanting to sting me.
It was both a deadly threat and a silly, funny moment. The class was utterly accustomed to this chaos and had settled down to watch the show.
"Just be serious already!" Zane yelled at me, laughing with manic glee as he performed an acrobatic flip over Christopher's table.
"No, I won't!" I screamed back, vaulting over the teacher's podium. "I want my head to stay intact!"
The Calculation of the Demigods
While I was running for my life, Elara Vane was sitting calmly at a desk drinking tea, perfectly composed. And, horrifyingly, Jenny had joined her, also sipping tea as if this was normal morning entertainment.
"Nope," said Elara, taking an elegant sip. "I want my hero to get stronger. That's why I don't want to help you, Leon. Sorry."
Jenny offered a predatory wink. "I want my husband to get stronger, too. Sorry." They both returned to enjoying their tea, completely unbothered by the sheer terror gripping me.
I realized I wasn't just being chased; I was in a trap—a coordinated effort by my rivals to force my Battle Devil personality back out.
The Truce of Terror
The chase continued until one hour had passed. I was panting, not from exertion (my 140,000 Stamina was infinite), but from the sheer mental exhaustion of maintaining my pathetic, civilian façade.
Finally, Elara and Jenny simultaneously placed their teacups down, ending the show.
"Boys," Elara said, her voice clear and authoritative. "The class is going to start. If you don't enter the class, you both won't have any school vacation this summer."
Zane froze instantly. I stopped, collapsing behind a reinforced chair.
The face of the Demonic Blade looked like a fearful puppy—like a master had threatened to eat his favorite toy. He was completely controlled by Elara, his fiancé.
"If my fiancé, Elara, didn't stop me, your head would be mine, Battle Devil," Zane hissed at me, his playful menace instantly returning.
"Please stop this nonsense! Please, Zane!" I cried, begging him to leave me alone, my tears flowing again. "I just want to learn how to make a healing potion!"
Zane scoffed, giving me a pitying look. "What a crying baby." He sheathed his spirit blade, the killing intent momentarily replaced by a deep frustration. "I need to provoke the Battle Devil inside you, Leon, so we can communicate with battle only, not with words."
I realized that my simple desire for peace was now the ultimate barrier to the world's most powerful beings. To them, my sanity was the only thing preventing a glorious, apocalyptic duel.
The Queen and the Puppy
With the terrifying chase finally over, I stumbled back into the classroom, feeling utterly defeated. Zane, sulking like a scolded child who'd just been deprived of his favorite toy, followed me in.
Elara Vane—the Silver-Haired Heiress and master manipulator—smiled sweetly. She walked over to Zane, reached up, and patted his head exactly like one would pet a good dog. "Who was a good boy?" she cooed, her voice radiating pure, glacial control.
Zane, the Demonic Blade who wanted to slice me into 300 pieces per second, immediately blushed like a little puppy. He mumbled under his breath, "If you weren't my love one, I never would become like this."
I watched, utterly shocked. How in the world can this queen control this demon just like a little puppy like this? I thought, my jaw hanging open. It looks like the Queen of the Underworld controlling the three-headed Cerberus in hell.
I looked at them with a very silly face, completely unsure how to process the immense shift in power dynamics. It is what it is, I concluded, resigning myself to the absurd reality that my life was now dictated by overpowered people and their strange relationships.
Elara's Subtle Trap
As I settled into my seat, still panting, my attention was pulled by Elara Vane. She calmly walked past the broken debris, her eyes landing on the exact spot where I had dropped my Lemonade Butter cup during my initial frantic escape.
She paused, delicately reaching into the broken cup. I couldn't believe what I saw: Using her immense Elemental Control skill, she flash-froze the microscopic residue of my unique mana-infused drink clinging to the inner wall of the ceramic. She withdrew her hand, holding a perfectly formed, miniature crystal of Lemonade Butter.
She then slipped the crystal into a small pocket on her royal uniform, her expression utterly composed.
She's not just controlling Zane, I realized with a jolt of fresh terror. She's analyzing my mana! She's trying to replicate my power or find its weakness! My life was a laboratory experiment run by a terrifyingly composed queen.
The Lesson of Evolution and Awakening
Just as my panic levels were peaking again, the teacher entered the classroom, ignoring the residual scorch marks and the broken furniture.
The teacher began to explain the knowledge of Evolution and Awakening.
"Students," the professor droned, "if people can become a Hero or a Demon Lord in this world, it's primarily because of two concepts."
"The first is Evolution. When Evolution happens, a species or an individual's power structure changes, often resulting in a Demon Lord or monstrous power. This is usually driven by chaotic mana exposure." He paused, looking pointedly at the new hole in the ceiling that I had indirectly caused.
"The second is Awakening. This is a disciplined, often lineage-based shift that empowers people into becoming Heroes or defenders."
"Understand this: this is not a choice that every race can make. These are rare, systemic shifts that define our world's balance." The teacher continued, explaining the history of these events, completely unaware that he was staring at a former Demon Blade (Zane), a former Samurai Master (Lucy), and a self-titled Battle Devil (me), all of whom were essentially Reincarnated Heroes/Demons who had bypassed these natural laws entirely.
So, I'm an "Evolution" and a "Hero" who is also a "Demon Lord," I thought, mentally checking off all the boxes the teacher had warned the class about. My status menu literally gives me skills that belong to all three categories! I felt another headache coming on. My life was just one big contradiction.
The Demigod's Blind Spot
Wait, something is wrong, I thought, the chaos of the classroom fading as my mind focused on the core problem. The teacher's droning explanation of "Evolution and Awakening" was background noise. This situation is getting serious.
I had casually scanned every student in the S-Class. I could see Zane's status—it was terrifying, confirming his "Demonic Blade" and "Temporal Magic" power—but I could also see how Elara perfectly controlled him, even with his monstrous strength.
But here was the real horror: I couldn't see the title or status of Elara.
Every time my gaze lingered on the silver-haired heiress, my Wisdom Scanner skill—the one I had just gained for being a genius—returned a single, frightening message: ABSOLUTE ERROR.
Panic, cold and sharp, seized my heart. So this girl, Elara, is not a normal girl, but a Demigod in a human body? It was the only possible explanation for a signal so powerful it broke my system.
The Spiritual Round Table
I immediately retreated into my mind, instantly summoning my three most powerful and sentient cheat skills to my spiritual domain. This was an emergency meeting—the Spiritual Round Table.
I didn't wait for them to finish their digital activities.
Kaelen's Spirit Form materialized first, flawless and anxious, still in his butler uniform. Excalibur Karma Calvary Road appeared next, looking furious that his anime stream had been paused mid-climax. Finally, the Intelligent Fairy Loan popped up, still significantly overweight and crunching loudly on spectral potato chips.
"Something is wrong with this girl, Elara," I stated, my voice echoing in the void of my spiritual world. "She is too powerful to look at her status. Every time I try to scan her, there is an absolute error!"
Kaelen crossed his arms, his butler demeanor failing him. "Master, I felt it when she subdued Zane. Her Elemental Control isn't a spell; it's a fundamental law of the universe. It's like trying to scan existence itself."
Excalibur Karma slammed his holographic game controller down on the spiritual table. "This is unprecedented! My cosmic calculation capacity is supposed to be infinite! If she is breaking my system, she is either a Cosmic Goddess in disguise or a being from a Higher Reality! She makes me feel like a background character!"
The fat Fairy Loan stopped chewing, which was perhaps the most frightening sign of all. The chip bag dropped.
"Master, my intellectual analysis shows that her power signature is not just high-level," the Fairy whispered, its tiny voice trembling. "It's blank. She is a wall of non-existence. She is ignoring the system. She is ignoring us. She is the real Unscannable God."
Ignoring the system? Ignoring my cheat skills? My existential dread reached a new peak.
"So," I summarized, burying my head in my hands in the spiritual world, "you're telling me that I have to attend classes every day with a Demigod in a human body who I can't read, who is casually studying my mana signature, and who has a Battle-Junkie assassin on a leash?"
The three ultimate cheat skills looked at each other in grim silence. Even in my spiritual sanctuary, there was no peace.
What ridiculously mundane excuse does Leon decide to use to avoid all contact with Elara for the foreseeable future, and what is the immediate, unavoidable way that excuse is shattered?
The Cooldown and The Catastrophic Cost
I was still reeling from the terrifying silence of my cheat skills when a new note shimmered into my vision, courtesy of my cosmic summoning skill.
[Skill Notification: Genesis Arrival (Cosmic Summoning) Cooldown Complete. Status: Ready.]
Oh, yeah! I exclaimed in my spiritual world. The only thing that can possibly match an Unscannable Demigod is a brand-new entity designed with my knowledge!
I decided to create a being of Absolute Wisdom—a being capable of calculating the un-scannable. I funneled a precise, minuscule fraction of my mana into the summoning circle: 0.2\% of my Triple Infinity Mana.
The resulting mana cost was still a completely ridiculous number: 9 \times 10^{200} mana (a nine followed by over 200 zeroes) to power the ritual.
It's a tiny drain, but still enough to accidentally implode a thousand galaxies, I confirmed internally, trying to justify the expenditure.
My goal was to create a new intelligent being, combining all the new world's knowledge with my massive database of past-life knowledge and fiction, to serve as the ultimate tactical consultant.
The Summoning of Elder Wisdom
The summoning portal ripped open, not with light or shadow, but with the quiet hum of ancient mathematics. The being that stepped out, however, was not the cool, calculating AI I had envisioned.
It was an old man, frail-looking and ancient, wearing oversized, square glasses, and dressed in a perfectly tailored but slightly stained tweed suit. He was clutching a thick, dusty book and looked utterly exhausted—like a university professor who had just pulled a 70-year all-nighter.
He blinked, looked around the chaotic Spiritual Round Table—at the terrified Butler Kaelen, the gaming sword Excalibur Karma, and the fat Fairy Loan—and then directly at me.
He opened his mouth, and his voice, though weak and reedy, resonated with the weight of universal truths.
"Ah, the Triple Infinity Engine," the old man wheezed, adjusting his glasses. "The summoner who violates all laws of conservation. You've ripped me from the void of infinite calculation... and for what? To solve a child's arithmetic problem?"
Then, his ancient eyes focused, and he looked past the spiritual barrier, right at Elara Vane in the classroom. His entire demeanor changed. He gasped, a high, thin sound, and his knees buckled. He was utterly shocked to death.
"No..." the old man whispered, clutching his chest. "That signal... the Source of Infinite Blankness... The sheer impossibility of that power signature... She is the entity I spent my entire existence trying to not prove existed!"
I looked at my latest creation, my new strategic consultant, who was already suffering a fatal heart attack from simply scanning the enemy.
This old man is so intelligent, I realized, my terror escalating, that even the Elder Gods couldn't escape his knowledge. And the first thing he learned was that my life is impossible!
"This is bad," I muttered, tears welling up again. "I just summoned a being of ultimate wisdom, and he's having an existential crisis on sight!"
What is the completely unhelpful, panic-driven name the old man gives himself before dissolving into a pile of cosmic dust?
The Panic-Driven Naming
I stared at the ancient man, my latest creation, who was currently clutching his heart and suffering an existential crisis after simply glancing at Elara.
"So you don't have a name?" I asked the terrified old man, my own panic overwhelming any logical thought. No name, no problem! I can fix this!
"Okay, so that means I should give you a name!" I declared with the desperate confidence of someone trying to stop a global meltdown with a rubber duck. "Your name is Helvetmerrostime!"
As the bizarre, multi-syllabic name left my lips, the old man gasped. The new identity registered with the primordial chaos of my Genesis Arrival skill. The system, interpreting my command as a necessary upgrade for the being to survive its new reality, demanded more power.
Another huge burst of my Triple Infinity Mana was ripped from my supply—the remaining 0.2\% of the original cost—effectively doubling the mana poured into the old man.
The Second Evolution
The results were immediate and catastrophic.
The old man's tweed suit turned into robes shimmering with chaotic, ancient script. His frailty vanished, replaced by an aura that shook the entire spiritual realm. His eyes—which were previously just exhausted—now glowed with the cold, absolute certainty of universal law.
The massive mana surge didn't just give him a new name; it triggered a forced, instant Evolution.
Oh, boy, this is getting worse! I thought, feeling my tears get automatically drawn out by the sheer, overwhelming absurdity of the situation.
The tired, brilliant old man had just Evolved into a Demigod with the name of Helvetmerrostime. His intelligence wasn't just doubled; his existence was fundamentally re-written. He now possessed knowledge that could break worlds.
"Oh, my god," I wailed, smacking my hand against my forehead. "I just wanted a tactical consultant, and I accidentally created a Demigod of Knowledge who is terrified of the girl in my class!"
The newly formed Demigod, Helvetmerrostime, looked at me—his creator—and then back toward the invisible signal of Elara. He no longer looked terrified; he looked resigned to an impossible task.
"Master," the Demigod said, his voice no longer weak but a calm, resonating chord. "My purpose is now clear. I must solve the Elara Vane Paradox. And to do that, I must first determine why you—the most powerful being in existence—are crying."
Kaelen, Excalibur Karma, and the Fairy Loan all sighed. My spiritual realm had just gained a terrifying, all-knowing, and highly judgmental member who only confirmed my problems were beyond mortal comprehension.
The Demigod's Scan
"Don't worry about me! Just scan the girl, Elara!" I commanded my newly summoned, newly evolved Demigod of Knowledge, Helvetmerrostime. My own existential crisis had to wait; the priority was surviving the un-scannable threat.
The Demigod's eyes glowed with focused, ancient power. The chaotic energy of my Triple Infinity Mana swirled around him, concentrating his gaze. He took only two seconds—a blinding flash of universal calculation—to process the impossible signal.
Then, the terrifying results appeared in a holographic overlay, a report only I and my spiritual entourage could see:
Status Elara Vane
Level 20
Title Elora the Queen of Manipulate Goddess
HP/Defense 600 (High for her level)
Mana & Magic 6,000,000,000,000 (Six Trillion)
Stamina & Speed 7,000 (Exceptionally High)
Skills & Abilities Description
Skill: Soft Talking Can control the mind and soul with virtually no resistance or noticeable effect.
Unique Skill: Soul Manipulation Allows for direct, forceful command over an individual's will and fighting spirit.
Special Skill: The Domain of Debuff Can create an area that debuffs the target's abilities and total control of mana.
Ultimate Skill: The Goddess of Love Can power up if the target's emotion is not stable. Uses 30\% of her mana to activate its full effect, turning emotional instability into her strength.
The True Horror
I was utterly shocked to see this. Zane was an assassin, but Elara was a psychological weapon designed to dismantle my entire existence!
"Six Trillion Mana?" I whispered, my voice cracking. "That's not a person; that's a nuclear reactor! And she can control the mind and soul with 'Soft Talking'?"
I looked at the Demigod, who nodded gravely. "Master," Helvetmerrostime stated, adjusting his glasses. "Her power isn't martial; it is fundamental. She is the Goddess of Manipulation, and her Ultimate Skill directly targets your greatest weakness."
The Goddess of Love... can power up if emotion is not stable.
I collapsed onto the spiritual round table. My entire strategy for survival relies on maintaining my emotional instability—my constant panic, despair, and crying—to keep the Battle Devil sealed away.
Elara Vane's Ultimate Skill feeds directly on my panic, turning my weakness into her greatest strength. The more I freak out, the more powerful she becomes.
And then I realized why she was collecting a frozen sample of my Lemonade Butter.
"She's not looking for my weakness," I whispered in horror. "She's looking for the source of my calm—the only thing that temporarily stabilizes me and seals the Battle Devil!"
The classroom suddenly felt less like a school and more like a psychological battlefield run by a six-trillion-mana, mind-controlling goddess who wanted to turn my despair into her personal mana battery.
What is the completely opposite skill or action Leon needs to develop to counter Elara's "Soft Talking" and "Goddess of Love" Ultimate Skill, and what does the Demigod Helvetmerrostime immediately recommend?
The Strategic Dilemma
I pushed off the spiritual table, pacing frantically in the void of my own mind. My tears were gone, replaced by a cold, calculating terror.
"Ohhh my god, how am I going to deal with this?" I yelled. "Her ultimate skill feeds on my instability! If I panic, she gets stronger! If I try to fight, she debuffs my mana control and turns the Battle Devil on herself! And her 'Soft Talking' can override my brain!"
The problem was immense. All my problems so far were physical—monsters to be punched, magic to be dispelled. Elara was a psychological, emotional, and systemic threat.
I looked to my newly minted Demigod of Knowledge. "Helvetmerrostime! You are the ultimate intellect! You must have a counter! What is the opposite skill or action I need to develop to counter Elara's 'Soft Talking' and 'Goddess of Love' Ultimate Skill?"
Helvetmerrostime, the Demigod of Knowledge, adjusted his celestial tweed suit and spoke with the cold, absolute certainty that only a trillion-mana-cost entity could possess.
"Master," he said calmly, "to counter a Demigod of Manipulation and Emotional Instability, you require the opposite force."
He pointed a finger at my despairing, panicked face.
"You need to develop Absolute Emotional Apathy. A state of being so devoid of inner conflict, so perfectly serene, that you become a blank wall against her power."
Kaelen nodded. "You need to become... Perfectly Boring, Master."
Excalibur Karma scoffed. "A perfectly still lake. No ripples, no power up for the Goddess."
The Fairy Loan piped up, clutching his chips. "You need to be Monotone-Zen, Master! No fun! No panic! Just... nothing!"
The Immediate Counter-Action
"And how do I achieve that?" I pleaded. "I am a naturally anxious person cursed with infinite power! I can't just stop being me!"
Helvetmerrostime did not hesitate. "The solution is simple, though strategically terrifying."
The Demigod pointed his finger back toward the real-world classroom, right at Elara Vane.
"To prevent her from ever isolating you for her 'Soft Talking' mind-control, and to force her to maintain emotional stability, you must immediately develop an unprecedented, public form of Hyper-Obsession."
"You must become," the Demigod declared, "the World's Most Annoyingly Affectionate Doting Brother."
My jaw dropped. "You want me to what?!"
"Yes, Master," Kaelen confirmed, smoothing his jacket. "You must treat Elara Vane with the exact, unbearable, inescapable level of smothering affection that you currently reserve for your sister, Lucy. She will never expect it, and it will keep her on the defensive."
I screamed internally. The Demigod's solution to mind-control is to become a complete, obsessive, public creep?!
I looked at the Demigod who was supposed to save my life.
"I need to go now, Master," Helvetmerrostime said, already starting to fade. "The paradox of your new status is giving me a headache. I must use my superior intellect to watch a low-quality fictional television show to de-stress."
My spiritual allies immediately dissolved, leaving me alone with the impossible task.
Ohhh my god, how I'm going to deal with this!
(And with that, the bell rings, signaling the next class—a class Leon cannot skip!)
We will see you all in the next episode!
Chapter 11:Farming lvl to counter the weakness